The first step toward another winning basketball season begins tonight and the Spartans aren’t too proud to ask for some support.
The MSU men’s and women’s basketball teams officially begin their seasons with the Motown Lo’Down at 10:30 p.m today in Breslin Center.
Players will be available to sign autographs, and prizes will be given away before the teams are officially introduced with Motown tunes blasting in the background.
At midnight, the first official practice for both teams will begin, giving fans a sneak look at the Spartan teams.
For the men, that team will be drastically different than last year’s.
The team lost five seniors after they graduated (including starters Charlie Bell, Andre Hutson and David Thomas) and said adios to guard Jason Richardson and forward Zach Randolph, who left early for the NBA.
That mass exodus has put a tad bit of pressure on the remaining players and new freshmen to follow four years of Big Ten Championships, three straight Final Four appearances and the 2000 National Championship.
“The (freshmen) have to step up, they don’t really have a choice,” junior forward Adam Ballinger said. “But the kind of players they are and with the caliber of play they are coming in with, they’ll definitely be able to do that.”
But Ballinger said he would also warn fans who come to see the team practice for the first time tonight, not to expect to see the promise of years’ past.
“(The practices) probably won’t go as smoothly as they have in past years because we’ve only had a couple freshmen coming in,” he said. “But once we get the drills down and once we get the plays down, which will take a little extra time, it should be fine.”
Veteran players will be expected to take leadership positions on the team to help develop the new players.
And someone needs to emerge as a pronounced offensive threat like last year’s four leading scorers - Richardson, Hutson, Bell and Randolph.
One of the players anticipated to fill the void is Ballinger.
“I think it puts pressure on me, but I’ve been here three years,” Ballinger said. “It’s about time I had a little pressure on me to come in and do some stuff.”
Maybe fans can take some solace in those words.
“So far, we’ve had one leader that led the team,” mechanical engineering sophomore Kathleen Hartrick said. “The team has the ability (to play well). But we’ll see if they can find the one leader to pull them together.”
Some fans are pointing to sophomore guard Marcus Taylor. While only in his second year, Taylor gained experience last year and has been in similar situations before.
“It’s kind of like my senior year in high school,” Taylor said. “That was a tough situation for me because I had a lot of responsibility, but as a player you have to accept that and go on.”
The women will also take the court tonight in their first practice.
Last year the team finished 10-18, and lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
Second-year head coach Joanne P. McCallie leads the team on the sideline, and sophomore forward Julie Pagel and junior guard Vnemina Reese are expected to steer the team on the court.
