25 Points for Number 25

I think Nix knew I was in the Alumni Izzone section on Saturday. He played as if he wanted to personally stick it to me for all of my doubts and disgruntle remarks I’ve made towards him these past four years. Izzo stated he has a “love-hate relationship” with Nix, “I love to hate him sometimes.” Once again, mine and Izzo’s great minds think alike. But on Saturday against Texas, I loved to love Nix. In fact, I loved EVERYTHING about Nix. I loved his 11 rebounds and 4 steals, I loved his free throws, I loved how his technical benefitted the team, and most of all I loved his 25 points. Did I mention his season high prior to this game was 11 points!? I’m not the only one jumping to join the Nix fan club. The Izzone was crazy for Nix, Izzo referred to him as a hero, and he was named Big Ten Player of the Week. 

The Nix we saw against Texas was a new man. He vowed to play with more emotion, more vocal expression, and more aggression. Nix did so and raised the ante to add more leadership, more confidence, and more basketball smarts. Nix saw that Texas was not doubling up on him (really Texas, what were you thinking!?) and he personally made them pay big time for their mistake. During this Christmas season, Nix made me and MSU fans everywhere believe in miracles. Maybe, just maybe, our big men can be the key to the team’s success like Izzo has been hinting at all year. Nix, with the assistance of Adreian Payne, sure made teammate Branden Dawson a believer.

“It is kind of an unstoppable beast when you got both of your big guys kind of dialed in,” Dawson said. “A lot of people said that Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne couldn’t play on the floor together and they showed it tonight. Adreian Payne, he can pop and hit a 15 footer. Derrick Nix is just a monster and a beast down low.” 

Nix talks often of owing the MSU basketball and Izzo and wanting to give back. Well Nix, wrap your performance Saturday up, stick a bow on it and present it to Izzo. 

I salute you Derrick Nix.

Go State!

Next up- # 19 MSU takes on #11 Minnesota for their Big Ten opener on Monday 12/31 at 2:00 on ESPN2

All I Want For Christmas Is Jabari Parker

The world may be coming to an end on December 21st, but Thursday, December 20th is that day that Duke and Michigan State fans are anxiously waiting for. 4pm Thursday to be exact. That's when ESPN's #2 recruit Jabari Parker will be announcing where he'll be playing come the 2013-2014 school year. Experts are split on where Parker will ultimately choose to play, and there's still a chance he'll throw a curve ball and choose BYU, Florida, or Stanford. Parker would be Izzo's best recruit since Shannon Brown and was called the best high school basketball player since LeBron James by Sports Illustrated. So why should he choose MSU....besides the fact that I (and I'm sure Izzo) put him on the top of my Christmas list for Santa? Read the below article to learn why.

Why Jabari Parker Should Choose MSU

Around the Big Ten

There's a first time for everything, as the saying goes, and yesterday was a first for me, and my two friends: RSMSUBball and PaleYellow.  We headed to the new Barclay's Center in Brooklyn proudly wearing Spartan t-shirts to watch a UofM game live against an opponent that wasn't Michigan State.  I felt out of place in a sea of maize and blue (their opponent, West Virginia, has similar school colors).  Our loyalties had to be clear as we entered the potential hostile environment.  Who did we root for, you may wonder.  I won't directly answer that question but I will say that my comrades and I rarely, if ever, cheered or clapped our hands, but we did take some notes.

Who is this Michigan team ranked third in the country and potentially first in the nation after Butler's overtime thrilling win over Indiana yesterday?  Are they really that good and do the Spartans have a chance to earn a W over them this season?  The answer is yes and yes.

After reading some on the Wolverine's team, I came in expecting stellar offense and not-so-great defense.  Those expectations were met.  Michigan's backcourt duo, Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., led an impressive offensive effort with Burke's season-high 27 points and Hardaway's 25 points.  Whatever those two wanted, they got.  So, what does Michigan State need to watch out for?

First, they must watch and cover the three.  Burke, Hardaway, and freshmen Stauskas, can all shoot the three.  Hardaway made four of eight threes last night and Stauskas has been making 63.6 percent of his threes throughout the season, according to Luke Winn as of December 5th.

Appling and Burke have similar styles so that match up should be a fun one to watch.  Both can shoot and both love to penetrate the paint for an easy lay up or pull-up jump shot.  Appling is a great defender so I'm hoping he can contain Burke to a season-low rather than a season-high.

Michigan's defense is not as great as their offense and our Bigs in Payne and Nix can take on Jordan Morgan any day.  We must play in the paint and not rely on perimeter shooting as our only source of offense.  The Wolverines also appeared sluggish, at times, getting back on defense.  MSU loves to run the ball.  We must grab 'n go.  Get the rebound and run the ball.  Appling, Trice, Valentine, Harris, and Dawson, all have quick hands and make quick baskets.  Michigan is a team we just might find some success with our fast offense(provided they don't fix this issue anytime soon).

But no matter what, with the emotion that goes into an arch-rival game, MSU is looking at a brutal battle with their in-state opponent.  Basketball basics will be key: rebounding, defense, and making shots.  MSU will not win with 20 turnovers and if they don't defend the three, forget about bragging rights.

Good/bad news?  Both teams have almost two months to prepare: first match is February 12, 2013.  My vote is the Spartans!  How about you?

Respect the Game

                                           mlive.com

The Spartans held Arkansas-Pine Bluff scoreless for almost the first 10 minutes of the game, claimed 27 rebounds by half , and victoriously defeated their opponent 76-44. And Izzo was furious. Furious with moments of soft defense, poor confidence and shooting, and (once again) way too many unforced turnovers. With 8:29 left in the game and a win secure, Izzo called a time out to inform his players of his displeasure-  Izzo style. His mood did not change with the conclusion of the game, stating, “If we play as sloppy as we did, we’re going to get punched in the mouth.” Ouch. That very response, though, is why I love Izzo. It’s why players desire to play for him (though they may not have felt that way at practice on Thursday). It’s why his players always improve tremendously throughout the season, why we as fans don’t fret about a rocky start in the fall, and why come March, the Spartans are inevitably a force to be reckoned with. Izzo screams, paces, scowls, and passionately demands the best out of each player because he cares how you play every moment and every play of the game. To use his own words, Izzo respects the game. The ENTIRE game.

Out of respect for Izzo and the team, let’s not overlook both the team’s victory and that of its individual players. The Spartans were an intense swarm of....well Spartan warriors.... on defense, their defensive pressure keeping APB to the low score of 12 points at half (7 of which points came in the last 2:20 minutes of the first half). The Spartan’s took back some of their “Christmas giving spirit” by stealing from APB all over the court (Kearney with 4 steals, Harris with 3, Appling and Payne with 2, and Dawson, Trice and Valentine each with 1). They pulled down a total of 42 rebounds to APB’s 27, and Appling, Dawson, Nix, and Costello all contributed blocks to the already (mostly) aggressive defense. They respected the game by playing like Spartans- fiercely playing the defensive end of the court and the board. 

What shone through to me, though, was the passion and skill that DID shine through specific players amidst a team that became, in their own words, a bit too relaxed at the end. Appling began using his voice more to call out players for unforced turnovers (Thank you Appling! Lets let Izzo conserve his own hoarse voice and stop repeating himself!). Payne sprang to the boards with a vengeance for a grand total of 8 rebounds, with Dawson right behind him with 7. Guana became a big man off the bench with 6 points, 3 assists (!!!), and 2 rebounds within 8 minutes. Valentine, to quote my excited blogging partner, looked like a kid in a candy store with his passion for the game as he accumulated 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists (the team and Valentine will continue to mesh and his numbers of assists will grow. Mark my words!). But when I look for a player to exemplify respect for the WHOLE game, each play, each moment, Trice stands out. Injury upon recovering from illness, and he continues to play with confidence from behind the mask. Trice respects the game and all of its players, acknowledging his strengths and that of his teammates in order to make the necessary plays. 12 points, and 4 for 7 from behind the three (for our current Spartan team, that is huuuuuge). But my favorite Trice stat- 5 assists. Second leading scorer of the game. Top in assists. 

“Coach wasn’t happy at all,” Trice said, “We weren’t either. We were disappointed in ourselves. That’s not the way we play. You can’t relax like that. We’ve got bigger thing to play for.”

Thank you Trice for respecting the game. For admitting the faults of the team, while maintaining the appropriate respect for the Spartan basketball team. Soft is NOT the way we Spartans play. And, as a true Izzo prodigy, Trice knows that EVERY game and EVERY moment is a valuable wind on the road to the Final Four. 

Next Game- Saturday December 8th at 2pm at the Breslin against Loyola Chicago

Go State!

Spartan's Overpower AR-Pine Bluff msuspartans.com

A rotation that worked

Something clicked yesterday.  The team we saw on the floor was a different team we saw from the previous game against Miami.  What changed? We can state the obvious home court advantage, Nicholls State playing without their top three players, etc. And while all those reasons are true, the Spartans also found a rotation that worked.

For starters, Payne became a sixth man rather than starting with Nix.  But the real butter on the toast was Dawson positioned as the power forward, a position he does not normally play.  The man did a phenomenal job as the four and not only was 4-5 for his own field goals, but also helped create baskets from other players as well.  At one point, his quick hands anticipated a pass from Nicholls State, stole the ball, and dribbled it down the court for one of his famous one-handed dunks.  I watched a special on the Big Ten Network, later in the evening, about the Top Ten Dunkers in the Big Ten.  With greats like Greg Kelser, Shannon Brown, and Jason Richardson, all making the Top Ten, I thought to myself, "Give Dawson time, and he will be on that list some day."  His athleticism was by far a highlight and enabled his team to play with great speed and confidence.

Then there were our Bigs.  Payne got a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.  The man wanted the ball.  This was a stark contrast to the game against Miami where our Bigs played like they were Goliath who had just been hit with a stone.  Payne and Nix wanted the ball and attacked the basket.  In fact, every Spartan who played yesterday was in attack mode.  That's right, they battled against the Trojans.  Harris and Valentine made clear that their freshmen success was not pure luck, but was here to stay.  Valentine connected with Nix for a simple alley-oop dunk.  Valentine did a no-look pass to Harris for another quick play in the paint.  Those kind of plays come from knowing your teammates well.  If they're coming from the hands of freshmen, expect more of this.

Some might argue that you can't take too much stock in yesterday's performance as it was based on a short-handed Nicholls State team.  True.  But games like this are important to remind teams of what they're made of, what they can do, and perhaps, try out a rotation that from what we saw, seems to work.  For Michigan State, that win was not only necessary for our actual record, but also for our morale as well.

And last, but certainly not least, our team likes each other.  They celebrate each other's successes whether on the court and from the bench.  Smiles were all around the Breslin.  And from my couch, the smile was pretty big as well.

Next up: Arkansas-Pine Bluff on December 5th.