Update, Wednesday March 24: Class of 2022 Philadelphia point guard Jameel Brown has reportedly been offered by Micah Shrewsberry and the Nittany Lions, according to 247Sports.

Brown decommitted from Purdue just a few days after Shrewsberry was hired as Penn State’s new head coach. Brown’s recruitment is still open, but 247’s Director of Basketball Scouting Jerry Meyer is currently predicting that the Haverford School star will commit to the Nittany Lions.

Original Story: It’s been a weird week or so for Penn State men’s basketball.

Last Monday, the program turned a new leaf by hiring former Purdue assistant Micah Shrewsberry as its new head coach. The college basketball world largely agreed “Coach Shrews” was the right hire, but that excitement wore off quickly for Penn State when six current players reportedly entered the transfer portal the following day.

We’ve already discussed that this doesn’t mean every player in the portal will, in fact, leave Penn State. But if the Nittany Lions are short players this offseason, it never hurts to assess some other options.

With that, we’ve compiled some of the players currently in the portal and high school recruits who could be great fits for Shrewsberry’s new program.

Jameel Brown, Pennsylvania Guard

This one is pretty self-explanatory.

Brown is a four-star guard out of Philly in the Class of 2022 who committed to Purdue this past December. However, he reopened his recruitment several days after Shrewsberry left the Boilermakers.

While it’d be more than a year down the road before Brown would even play for the Nittany Lions, he’d be a home run commitment. According to 247Sports, Penn State has yet to offer the Haverford School guard, but don’t be shocked if that changes soon.

Ranked as the third-best prospect in the state and the 20th-best combo guard in the nation, Brown would be an impressive second addition to the Nittany Lions’ 2022 class. We’ll see if Shrewsberry can utilize the connections he may have made with Brown at Purdue to bring him over to Happy Valley.

Jamal Mashburn Jr., Minnesota Guard

After a productive true freshman campaign with the Golden Gophers, Mashburn reportedly entered the transfer portal just last week.

The 6’2″ guard from Miami averaged 8.2 points and 1.6 assists on the year and even put up 18 points in Minnesota’s Big Ten Tournament defeat to Ohio State.

The young, talented Big Ten product could have a bright future ahead of him, so don’t be surprised if Shrewsberry tries to keep him in the conference next season. Mashburn would provide some key depth to Penn State’s group of guards, especially if players like Izaiah Brockington and Myreon Jones find new homes in the transfer portal.

Fatts Russell, Rhode Island Point Guard

Russell entered the transfer portal just last week and has rightly garnered interest from some top college hoops programs.

Russell was a force at guard for Rhode Island over the course of his four-year career there. As a senior this past year, Russell averaged 14.7 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds and assists. He led the Rams all the way to the Atlantic 10 Championship, where they fell to Dayton.

He was considered a dominant player in his conference throughout his career, as he was named to the first-team All-Atlantic 10 squad after a junior season in which he averaged 18.8 points per game and 4.6 assists.

Though a Philadelphia native, Russell was never offered by Pat Chambers and the Nittany Lions out of high school. Now could be the time for Shrewsberry and his staff to grab the Pennsylvania native and make him a Nittany Lion soon.

Xavier Johnson, Pitt Guard

Sorry, Pitt.

Xavier Johnson just finished up an impressive junior season with the Panthers. He averaged 14.2 points and 5.7 assists per game and was a standout in the ACC. Pitt went 10-12 on the year, however, so the talented Virginia native entered the transfer portal in late February.

Coming out of high school, Johnson received several offers from top-tier programs, but he’ll understandably get even more attention this time around after an extremely productive three years in a skilled conference.

Johnson has already explained that he’ll “take his time” with the transfer process, so let’s see if Shrewsberry can utilize that and try to make an impression on the veteran guard.

Tre Mitchell, UMass Power Forward

It’s no secret that the Nittany Lions need size, and Tre Mitchell brings exactly that.

The 6’9″, 235-pound big man from Pittsburgh entered the transfer portal last week after two seasons with UMass. He was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year after his 2019-20 campaign in which he averaged 17.7 points per game, 7.2 boards, and a block. As a sophomore this past year, Mitchell only improved by putting up 18.8 points per game and 1.5 blocks.

Mitchell was highly recruited out of high school as a four-star prospect and was even offered by Penn State, but eventually chose the Minutemen. If Shrewsberry could convince him to consider Happy Valley this time around, it would be a huge step in the right direction for the Nittany Lions’ undersized roster.