Young players come to play in tourney opener

Denver — Thursday afternoon may have been a strong indication of promise for the future.

Sean Ely

With senior guard Drew Neitzel scoring six points on 2-for-11 shooting, some MSU fans might be saying “Uh-oh, we’re doomed in this tournament without Neitzel burying 3-pointers and scoring at least 17 points a game.”

Well, Green and White basketball junkies, I think the victory against Temple gives you an opportunity to ease back and take a breather — MSU is going to hit these tournament teams from all angles with as many players as possible.

The Owls didn’t even get an appetizer of what Neitzel has to offer as an offensive threat.

And the result?

A platter of entrées and desserts personally delivered by not just a few, but nine different Spartans — mainly from the youngest players on the team, such as the freshman trio of Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen and Durrell Summers along with sophomore forward Raymar Morgan.

With that, two things come to mind.

First off, the Spartans don’t need Neitzel to do it all. Last season, he carried the entire team on his back, where he was required to pretty much be the offense.

Now, you’re getting baskets from five or six different sources. And most importantly, you’re getting them at crucial times in important games — such as freshman guard Durrell Summers’ transition layup with 2:51 to play in Thursday’s game to put MSU back up 12 after Temple began making a late-game run.

And secondly, MSU’s fate in the long run looks nothing but promising if the team chemistry and desire to win continues in the upcoming years.

After the victory against the Owls, MSU head coach Tom Izzo made it clear that a roster like this is deadly because it will run you out of the gym.

“We didn’t wanna talk about the altitude, didn’t want to talk about 10:30 a.m. (Mountain time) ... but we did want to talk about Tyndale and Christmas playing 37 minutes a game and we thought playing 10 guys and wearing them down would work to our advantage,” he said.

And Izzo made sure to instill in his freshmen’s heads the severity that detail plays in the postseason.

“Maybe they got the message that these guys gave them and we gave them — It’s one and done time and things have to change,” Izzo said.

As far as the rest of the Big Dance goes, I see MSU turning some heads and upsetting some teams that don’t have enough time to scout them. Big Ten teams, after 18 games in conference play, have had the opportunity to see senior center Drew Naymick hit a shot from 17 feet out or freshman guard Kalin Lucas find a way to slash through four defenders in the paint and lay it gently off the glass.

It comes with studying and knowing the opposition, inside and out.

Random teams from random conferences — not so much. Not everybody knows you can’t give Chris Allen an inch, or even a centimeter on the 3-point line.

But for MSU, they boast one of the most prominent film crews in all of the nation. Games are being recorded in arenas you’ve never heard of. And the kind of teams are being recorded that the average basketball fanatic can’t name one member of the roster.

And with Izzo and his coaching staff scouting the competition, drawing up plays and borrowing defensive sets from NBA-caliber coaches, the Spartans will know exactly how to shut down teams like Pittsburgh and Memphis.

I’m not saying it’s just a matter of studying and then letting the preparation do it all for you.

But when you arrive for a biology exam early Wednesday morning and you started studying before 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, isn’t that a great feeling — to not be worrying if the one section you reviewed is going to be the entire test?

That’s how MSU will feel for the remainder of the tournament if they can stay alive.

Oh how sweet it is when you’re prepared.

Sean Ely is a State News men’s basketball reporter. He can be reached at elysean@msu.edu.