Penn State hoops: Prospects buying into Shrewsberry's vision — what's next?

Penn State Nittany Lions basketball made what can be described as a rare recruiting splash earlier this week, when Rivals150 guard Jameel Brown gave Penn State his verbal pledge.

Brown is a talented guard from the Philadelphia area and, generally speaking, within a tier of prospects that Penn State hasn't tapped into very often throughout its history.

New head coach Micah Shrewsberry is trying to change that and — less than six months into his tenure — is having some success.

"I think people are believing in our vision," Shrewsberry said Friday. "The one thing we're trying to be is genuine, I don't know any other way to be. I'm almost honest to a fault. I tell guys things and my assistants are probably cringing because I'm going to tell you the truth. That's the only way we're going to get better...I'm not going to tell you things just to get you here and then flip it and turn it into something else.

"We're looking for fits. This might not be a fit for everybody, but there's some people that really appreciate this place, and we're starting to land those guys."

RELATED: Penn State basketball recruiting notebook — updates on Lively, Oweh and more

Shrewsberry's first recruiting class with the Nittany Lions now holds three prospects — Brown, versatile guard Evan Mahaffey and point guard Kanye Clary.

Shrewsberry isn't done. Otega Oweh, a top-100 prospect and the younger brother of former Penn State football defensive end Odafe (Jayson) Oweh, is another priority prospect, as is five-star center Dereck Lively, as the Nittany Lions look to add a big man to their class.

Shrewsberry isn't only after talent, he's also chasing fits. A prospect must bring skills to the table, but character is also important, as is intelligence within the game.

"I'm big on read and react and understanding the game, teaching the game," Shrewsberry said. "Finding guys that fit in that area, that's the fit. That's the perfect world. You might not be able to get that, but you find as close as you can. If you find enough guys that have those values, or exhibit those values, we can work with those other things, because they all care about winning. They'll be competitive and they'll fight for their teammates, and that's what we want."

NCAA regulations prevent Shrewsberry from discussing prospects specifically, but he praised his staff's advanced planning as one of the key factors in the recruiting success they're having to this point.

"We didn't have to get together as a staff and formulate, 'this is the guy we're going to go after,'" Shrewsberry said. "We had that plan laid out early, and now we're trying to narrow it down and execute it. We're getting closer as the season gets closer to where we want to be."

For Shrewsberry, the resumption of face-to-face interaction has been crucial as he looks to build his program, and the recruiting trail has been no exception.

On the road as a head coach for the first time, Shrewsberry's attitude hasn't changed all that much, but he does recognize that prospects want to see him courtside expressing interest.

"Most kids, they don't want to see the assistant coach, they want to see the head coach there watching them, that's a big deal to them," Shrewsberry said. "But for me, I don't know how to act any different. I've been a head coach for like four months and an assistant coach for 21 years. I do the exact same things. I've got to get better at delegating."

So what's next for Shrewsberry and his staff, as the Nittany Lions look to continue to build on their recruiting success in the 2022 class, and turn an eye toward 2023?

Like any Penn Stater, they've got their focus on college football season. Shrewsberry, who noted that he's a massive college football fan, will look to use Penn State football home games at Beaver Stadium as an opportunity to show prospects what the Penn State experience is like.

"Now we get a chance to show our recruits the spirit of Penn State and how they rally around their teams," Shrewsberry said. "That's big. We've gone a long time without fans being in the stands. For some of these guys, they've never experienced the college experience, being at a basketball game or being at a football game, so it's introducing them to Penn State and how the atmosphere is going to be.

"Yeah, it's a football game, but this same atmosphere can happen with basketball if we do it the right way."

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