After losing to Duke in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament, junior guard Denzel Valentine vowed that MSU would return next season.
Head coach Tom Izzo placed his faith in his captain during his end-of-season press conference last week, saying he believes Valentine will help the Spartans live up to expectations next season.
“He, I think, will take this team to new heights next year,” Izzo said. “What those new heights mean, it might not be as deep in the tournament, it might. But there will be an expectation from the players. And when there’s an expectation from the players it’s a lot better than if there’s an expectation from the coach or fans.”
Valentine made a leap during his junior season, upping his averages to 14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
He often was MSU’s most consistent shooter, draining 41.6 percent of his 3-pointers on more than six attempts per game.
Despite his strong season, Izzo said the junior guard isn’t done improving.
“Denzel would be the first to tell you he’s still got to tighten up his game,” Izzo said. “The thing he and I argue or question each other on, it’s still got to happen.”
Izzo said Valentine’s senior season should be when he focuses on his legacy.
“To leave a legacy here that his dad can enjoy, he can enjoy, former players can enjoy, I can enjoy, Denzel is the ultimate,” Izzo said.
Freshman guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr., whom Valentine and Izzo both said will be a leader next season, will be Valentine’s right-hand man. Despite his inexperience, Nairn was often an emotional leader for the Spartans through the postseason run through the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
“Tum was as emotional as any freshman I’ve seen in there after, talking about Travis, talking about what he did for him,” Izzo said. “And I’m almost vowing that there’s going to be a lot of work that goes into try to get be back (to the Final Four). Yeah, that’s encouraging, to have a senior and freshman doing it.”
Izzo said this season will give next year’s team a benchmark for what can be accomplished. Few predicted a Final Four run out of this season, which was marked by injuries and inconsistency at the free -throw line.
Next year’s team will be deeper, and perhaps more talented. As Izzo said, there will be an expectation from the players to make it back to the Final Four.
“I think it makes you feel good,” Izzo said. “I bet you a lot of coaches out there will use our team as a, kind of a resting point of, ‘This is what you can accomplish when you do this, this and this.’ Because it’s been well-documented, (the media) documented it well, it’s been truth.”
