This week has not been kind to the Nittany Lion hoops program. On Wednesday, it was made official that former Penn State basketball head coach Micah Shrewsberry will be leaving the program in favor of the same position with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Additionally, the Nittany Lions now have a few players in the transfer portal, Seth Lundy has declared for the NBA Draft, and now, to top things off, one of the highest rated Penn State commits in the program’s history has requested out of his NLI with PSU. Carey Booth — the son of Penn State legend Calvin Booth — will not be attending Penn State University.

Penn State basketball loses commitment from Carey Booth

Carey Booth is a highly-touted 2023 recruit, and his commitment to Penn State basketball was looking like a monumental moment for the program. His father, Calvin Booth, was a standout in the Blue and White from 1995-1999, averaging over 11 points per game, nearly four blocks per game, and 6.4 rebounds per game. Since Shrewsberry’s announcement earlier this week, the state of the program has been rapidly declining — Penn State’s 2022-23 season was a massive momentum shift for Penn State basketball seeing as the Lions finally ended their tournament drought (2011) and tournament win drought (2001).

Carey Booth is rated as a four-star 2023 recruit and is ranked as the No. 86 player in the nation, the No. 18 power forward, and the No. 4 player in the state of New Hampshire. Booth could have been a generational player for the Penn State Nittany Lions; however, with many question marks surrounding the head coaching job, nine scholarship roster spots to fill, and more, Booth has opted to play elsewhere.

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STATE COLLEGE, PA — Within the next 24 hours or so, Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry will make a major career decision. There are two schools in the running for Shrewsberry right now: Penn State basketball and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish — both are in a position to land him and have solid offers on the table, according to reports. Despite all of this uncertainty, the Nittany Lions are still the favorites to land a top-100 recruit in the 2024 cycle.

As of today, in no particular order… My Top 6 schools are Virginia Tech, Stanford, Penn State, Marquette, Villanova and Oklahoma. @CoachJonesMPB @Sim_Frazier @TeamCurry @MyersPark_Hoops pic.twitter.com/eG6TrPhsaU

— Sir Mohammed (@thesirmohammed) March 21, 2023

Penn State basketball the favorite to land a top-100 recruit in the 2024 cycle

Sir Mohammed is one of the might sought-after players in the 2024 college basketball recruiting class. Despite many questions surrounding what Penn State basketball will look like in 2023, the Nittany Lions made Mohammed’s top-6 earlier this week, and according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Mohammed is a favorite to commit to Penn State basketball all said and done. The RPM gives Penn State a 47.1% chance of landing Mohammed — the next-closest program is Stanford, who sits at 31.2%.

According to the Industry Rankings, Mohammed is rated as a four-star prospect and is ranked as the No. 91 player in the nation, the No. 24 small forward in the 2024 recruiting cycle, and the No. 10 player in the state of North Carolina. The 2024 top-100 recruit boasts a 6-foot-6, 200-pound frame and is a product of Myer Park High School — he is a native of Lexington, KY.

Will Mohammed go Blue and White?

“The relationship made with the Coach (Micah) Shrewsberry and Coach Aki (Collins) and the rest of the staff has been amazing and both my unofficial and official visit were great,” Mohammed told BWI.

No is is sure what will happen with Micah Shrewsberry and Penn State basketball; however, for the time being, the Nittany Lions are headed in the right direction with an elite top-100 recruit in the 2024 cycle.

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STATE COLLEGE, PA — On Sunday, less than 24 hours after Penn State’s heartbreaking Round of 32 loss to the Texas Longhorns, the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff is already hard at work with its newest recruiting class. This afternoon, it was announced that the Penn State basketball team will host Josh Cohen — a major transfer portal target — for a recruiting visit this offseason.

St. Francis PA transfer Josh Cohen will visit Penn State tomorrow, he tells @On3sports.

Averaged 21.8 PTS and 8.3 REB this season. https://t.co/bPZawRUy9N

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 19, 2023

Penn State basketball to host major transfer portal target this offseason

The Penn State basketball team is not the only major program to notice Josh Cohen in the transfer portal thus far. Other Big Ten and Power 6 programs — such as Iowa, Notre Dame, and more — have also taken an immediate interest in the former St. Francis PA standout forward.

Cohen stands at an impressive 6-10 and weighs in at 220-pounds — he averaged over 21 points and eight rebounds per game during his most recent season with SFU. He would bring something to State College that Penn State basketball was lacking this year: a sizable paint presence that also acts as a reliable scorer. Below is a list of schools that have already reached out to Josh Cohen; Penn State took things a step further and already has a visit scheduled.

St. Francis PA transfer Josh Cohen tells @On3sports he’s heard from the following schools since entering the transfer portal:

Notre Dame
Arkansas
Iowa
South Carolina
UMass
Butler
Santa Clara
UCSB
UNCW
Penn State
FGCU
UNI
Coastal Carolina
Charleston
LMU
Elon
Liberty… https://t.co/xMqYx7cM40

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 9, 2023

Micah Shrewsberry is already hard at work

Since Penn State’s magical season has come to an end, the attention of all Penn State basketball fans has shifted to a new topic: will head coach Micah Shrewsberry stay in State College; or will he take another college coaching position? This will likely come down to Pat Kraft and the admin ensuring him that he will have the resources to build a winning program at Penn State.

That being said, seeing Shrewsberry and his staff hard at work just a day after Penn State’s season ended is a great sign — if Shrewsberry planned on leaving right now, would he already be assembling next year’s team? We don’t think so, though no one is entirely sure how this situation will play out right now.

Below is a breakdown of Penn State’s newest transfer target via @ItsAntWright (Twitter):

Transfer Portal Breakdown

6’10” Josh Cohen.. ranked 11th nationally in scoring pic.twitter.com/krlQ1vqzud

— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) March 14, 2023

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics.

For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!