Life for a freshman in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball is not easy, but things became even more complicated for freshman guard Matt McQuaid when MSU head coach Tom Izzo made the decision to switch his position from shooting guard to point guard.
McQuaid said he thinks the transition began after playing as point guard during MSU’s trip to Italy this past summer. During the trip, senior guard Denzel Valentine said he certainly took notice of McQuaid’s abilities with the ball, and thinks McQuaid could develop into a talented point guard for MSU.
“When he first got here I didn’t know he was a playmaker like he is,” Valentine said. “He’s a really good playmaker, he sees the play, sees the floor, sees plays before they happen and he’s good at that. So I think he’s good at running the point guard and he’s going to keep continuing to improve.”
None of McQuaid’s stats so far will jump off the page, as he is averaging a modest 3.2 points and two assists per game. McQuaid knows he still has a lot to work on, but his play will be more important now than ever with the loss of starting sophomore point guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. who is out indefinitely with plantar fasciitis.
“The speed of the game really, and the decision making,” McQuaid said. “I still have got a lot to improve on, on seeing things before they happen, but the upperclassmen are helping me a lot with that. Tum Tum’s staying on me about it and they’re helping me out and I’m improving a lot.”
McQuaid said Nairn has taken him under his wing as he makes the transition to point by helping him break down film, talking to him every day and teaching him how to think and play like a point guard.
“He’ll put his arm around me on the sideline, he’ll be like, ‘hey, you see this, you see that’ and I’m just like ‘aw, yeah I see that now’ and he’s just been a real big help for me,” McQuaid said.
Valentine and Nairn said the big thing they have been talking to McQuaid about is getting a better feel for the point guard position — when to look for his shot and when to pass.
“Just telling him how I think he should play defense, how I think he should be aggressive offensively when he has a shot he should take it,” Nairn said. “Just stuff like that because Matt McQuaid is a great player.”
Nairn said he thinks McQuaid has done about as well as a player could do in making such a large position change, and he thinks the confidence McQuaid will gain as a starter will be great for the team.
“There’s not too many guys that you can try to convert into a point guard when they’re known as a scorer and a shooter, but I mean, he’s handled it pretty well, he asks me a lot of questions, he asks (Denzel) a lot of questions,” Nairn said.
McQuaid started the season hot, scoring nine points in his second game against Kansas in the Champions Classic, shooting 3-for-3 from the 3-point line including a huge 3-pointer to help propel MSU to the win. Since then, Izzo said he has played like a freshman going through large ups and downs throughout the season.
As a result, Izzo said he thought going into the game against Wisconsin that starting McQuaid at point guard might be a problem, but said after the game he was reassured of his decision, and is confident in McQuaid’s ability to start at the point while Nairn gets healthy.
“Matt McQuaid went from hitting all the big shots in the big games on the big stages and he’s kind of had the brook-trout look a little bit,” Izzo said. “He ran the thing good (against Wisconsin), he hit a couple guys down the middle, he did a pretty good job. I thought he did a pretty good job defensively.”
