UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Immediately when Micah Shrewsberry made the comment, it became one of my all-time favorite quotes from a coach.
Penn State's new coach was describing how he didn't get much sleep Tuesday night because he was nervous and excited about his Division I head coaching debut. So, what did he do when he couldn't fall asleep?
"I did sneak down in my basement and play some Galaga to try and break some high scores," Shrewsberry said with a smile.
Hahaha!
Just so you know, Galaga is my all-time favorite video game. ANY time I see it, I'm compelled to stop and play and try to break the high score (I've always been really good at it).
So, just like Tom Cruise had Renee Zellweger at "hello" in "Jerry Maguire," Shrewsberry had me at Galaga.
I mean, who can't relate to that kind of story? Maybe not necessarily the video game part, but being so amped up with nervous excitement for something you've dreamed about that you couldn't sleep the night before.
Shrewsberry finally got to celebrate the dream of coaching his own Division I basketball team Wednesday night when Penn State hosted Youngstown State at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions won, 75-59, and while specific details of the game are important with regards to the development of this year's basketball team, they're really not all that big in the grand scheme of things when telling the Shrewsberry story on this day.
The 45-year-old coach is a genuine, down-to-earth guy. We haven't been able to get to know him a great deal yet, but he just comes across as one of those guys that everyone gets along with. The kind of dude no one has a bad word about. Just a regular guy who's soft spoken, friendly to everyone and also happens to play video games in his basement when he can't sleep.
Shrewsberry was asked in the postgame press conference to describe his day leading up to the late tipoff at the BJC. He didn't get overly sentimental about the buildup, but instead was more matter of fact, noting, "It was a long day."
"I was up early, and I couldn’t nap after shoot-around," Shrewsberry added. "I was just anxious to start. A lot of that was nervousness, but a lot of it was like I knew this would be a challenge."
He talked about how Youngstown State is a solid team and program, and that the Penguins had beaten his Butler squad when he was an assistant coach a decade ago on the way to playing for a national championship that season.
"I know how good they were," Shrewsberry said. "I knew they wanted to come in here and play really well. ... That's why I was nervous."
Let's be honest here, Shrewsberry will have a lot to be nervous about as Penn State's coach this season. The Nittany Lions have some experience, but they lack size, and two of the big guys they're counting on aren't playing right now (one injury, one not with the team because of transfer issues).
This could end up being a rough season for Penn State, with somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-6 wins in the rugged Big Ten being a reasonable prediction.
There were portions of Wednesday's game when the Lions struggled against Youngstown State. Then Penn State went on big runs to take control of the game, and the outcome was never really in doubt.
The Penguins led 21-17 in the first half before the Lions scored nine points in a row as part of 16-2 run. Penn State led just 57-51 with 7:46 remaining, then went on a 14-2 run to blow things open.
Shrewsberry called his players "warriors" because he asks so much of them on the defensive end and noted they sometimes wear down because of it. We definitely saw examples of that in the opener, and it will have to be something the Lions learn to manage in the Big Ten.
Seth Lundy led the way with 23 points, while Sam Sessoms had 17. John Harrar had his usual strong showing inside with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
This game wasn't about who scored the most points or hit the biggest buckets. We'll analyze all of that with subsequent games.
This game was about Shrewsberry and the future of Penn State basketball.
"To be a part of the first win is a great experience," Sessoms said of Shrewsberry's first Division I victory. "I actually believe he's gonna make Penn State one of those schools as far as basketball."
The players doused their coach with water in the locker room in celebration after his postgame speech.
"I will say it’s special," Lundy said of the win. "A lot of people didn’t believe in us when everything happened last year. When he first got the job and all the guys transferred, nobody thought we were going to be good. He said, 'We’re all we got.' Honestly, we’re all we need."
(BTW: For the rare folks out there who don't know, this is Galaga.)
