The last question Tom Izzo was asked at the MSU men’s basketball annual media day press conference was a simple question, but Izzo gave his answer much thought.
A reporter asked Izzo about the potential and the success his previous teams had in recent years and what the potential for this season’s team was.
Izzo waited a moment to formulate a thought, seemingly stumped before he gave his answer.
“The cool thing is if I answered you honestly, and I'm going to, I don't know,” Izzo said. “I don't know where we are right now. I do not know yet. We're doing some different things with some different people. I do know this — we got a lot of really good parts and a lot of neat parts, a lot of guys that are on a mission. We got some older guys that, I don't know if 'embarrassed' is a good word, but were hurt by the loss last year. We got some coaches that are. I'm one of them.”
Izzo elaborated.
“So it's going to be a year where I think everybody's going to have to work harder than they've ever worked,” Izzo said. “It's just a little more unknown this year. It's a little more unknown. I don't know how freshmen are going to respond. This is new territory.”
Since last season, which ended with a historical upset loss to Middle Tennessee State University, Izzo has had more than eight months to culminate MSU’s game plan heading into the 2016-17 season.
Izzo will rely on a combination of newcomers from the highly-touted freshman class, like forwards Miles Bridges and Nick Ward, and guards Cassius Winston and Josh Langford and returning experienced
Izzo and the players were bombarded with questions about the freshman class. Izzo called Bridges a “blue-collar superstar” with his explosive playmaking ability, and Winston could possibly be “the best passer since Magic Johnson in the state” with his ability to change pace and take shots.
“What is fun is I got a lot of guys that want to learn,” Izzo said. “I got a staff that I think is invigorated by the fact that we're going to have to work a little harder. We don't have some seniors like Denzel (Valentine) or Matt (Costello) or Colby (Wollenman) that are explaining everything. We're going to have to spend a little more time. Probably going to get us closer to a few players.”
Bridges said what sets this freshman class apart is their ability to be coached at all times.
“We (the freshmen) don’t know everything,” Bridges said. “If somebody knew everything, then they would be the greatest player ever. You can always be coached at all times.”
Harris, the oldest player on the team, said even a veteran like himself has improvements to make. Last season, Harris played in 35 games, started 22 and averaged 9.3 points a game, down from averaging 17.2 points per contest during his sophomore year.
“I was really working on my ball handling and working on my shot,” Harris, the team’s only fifth-year senior, said. “I was making it more consistent. I’m very comfortable right now at this time, I’m making good shots. I’m making good reads and playing good defense. I know the system, and my comfort level is very high right now. It’s a mental thing, and you just have to keep your confidence up.”
Redshirt-sophomore forward Kenny Goins said he’s also improved his shot in the off-season. Goins will be one of the players filling the void as MSU’s big man after Gavin Schilling went down with an injury requiring surgery on Wednesday.
“We’re really trying to stretch the floor now that we’re even more undersized than what we were,” Goins said. “I tried to expand my range a little bit ... a lot of pick-and-pop. I’d love to say I’m comfortable from 17-feet, even taking a couple of threes here and there, but if the open shot is there I’ll take it.”
Izzo said even with the gauntlet the team will face out of the gates in November, he’s confident the team will be able to
“I think we have a different kind of team than we had in the last couple years,” Izzo said. “That's invigorating, to be honest. I'm not sure I'll feel that way if we get guys in foul trouble or problems. But I am enjoying this process because I got great guys to work with. That thing I talked about last year, about the culture and the guys, it hasn't dropped. That part hasn't dropped off an inch. A little bit of depth has. A little bit of experience has dropped off. But the other things haven't dropped off. We're going to be able to make this into a very, very good basketball team."
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