
Itâs an all-time high for the league
The Big Ten this season has 10 head-to-head matchups between Black head coaches, a league first and an all-time high. Minnesotaâs Ben Johnson, Micah Shrewsberry (Penn State), Danny Manning (Maryland) and Mike Woodson (Indiana) are all in their first seasons as HCs. Add Michiganâs Juwan Howard since 2019, and these are this centuryâs âBlack Five.â
With three remaining matchups, Johnson is 3-1 in these Black vs. Black matchups, and 4-1 overall this season. The Gopher coach defeated Jacksonville, also with a Black head coach, in November.
The 41-year-old Johnson and Shrewsberry, age 45, are both former Big Ten assistants, the former at Minnesota and the latter at Purdue. They are also the conferenceâs two youngest coaches. This is the Minneapolis-born Johnsonâs first head-coaching opportunity and Shrewsberryâs second such opportunity.
Both coaches told the MSR separately after their first-ever matchup in Minnesota Feb. 12, a 76-70 Gopher win, that they have huge respect for each other.
âHeâs been doing a great job all season,â said Shrewsberry on Johnson.
Johnson said of Shrewsberry, âI have an unbelievable amount of respect for Micah, and he does it the right way.â
Last week, the twoâs second meeting in five days, Penn State defeated visiting Minnesota 67-46.
âWeâre first-time head coaches in the Big Ten,â noted Johnson. âWeâre both in programs where youâre trying to grow and build it the right way.â
The two Black coaches also have two of the conferenceâs least-experienced squads: Minnesota (2.56 yearsâ experience) and Penn State (2.74 years).
Shrewsberry called the Lions-Gophers contest at The Barn âpretty historic and good for our league. Weâre just trying to continue to just push it forward to [other] Black coaches. Weâre gonna do our best to push our teams forward.â
The MSR a few days before the contest talked to Shrewsberry by phone about his first season at the helm at PSU. After a playing career at Hanover College (1995-99), he started his coaching career as an assistant at Wabash (1999-2000), DePauw (2001-03) and Marshall (2003-05), then got his first HC opportunity at IU South Bend (2005-07).
Shrewsberry then took assistant jobs at Butler (2008-11), Purdue (2011-13), the NBAâs Boston Celtics (2013-18) and Purdue (2019-21).
âWeâve really been able to focus on our defensive system,â explained the Lionsâ HC. âWeâre trying to get our system into how we want to play.â
Despite his squadâs sub-.500 record this season, Shrewsberry believes his program is heading in the right direction: âI feel good about the direction weâre going, and especially defensively,â said the coach.
Although the Big Ten went from zero to five Black head coaches in less than three years, âthe one-and-onlyâ status historically tagged on Black coaches still exists. âI think itâs huge⊠There havenât been many Black head coaches,â said Shrewsberry.
âWith a Black commissioner [Kevin Warren] of our league, weâre starting to transform it. Iâve known Juwan from our days coaching against each other in the NBA. Weâre both competitors, but thereâs so much respect between us.
âWe have a responsibility now, Ben and I [as head coaches], to uphold the legacy,â he added, âand keep it going so the next guy can get an opportunity⊠How our teams play, how we are on the sidelinesâŠwe represent not only ourselves but we represent the other Black assistant coaches striving to get a job like ours.
âIâm thrilled to be the head coach here,â said Shrewsbury. âIâm thrilled to represent young Black coaches. Iâm just trying to do my small part to help more guys get an opportunity.â
Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.