Adam Ballinger dug himself a mountain-sized crevasse to climb out of.
But in wins against then-No. 19 Indiana and then-No. 13 Illinois, the senior forward took a couple of gigantic leaps.
Ballinger hardly put a dent in the score sheet, scoring seven points in each game.
Yet, when he was called upon, he came through with big-time plays.
With MSU (12-8 overall, 4-4 Big Ten) leading Indiana 56-54 on Jan. 28, with just over 40 seconds to play, Ballinger knocked down a triple that sealed the win.
"It felt so good," he said. "It does feel like I'm kind of back."
Against the Fighting Illini on Sunday, Ballinger's big play wasn't the game-clinching shot. But his ability to show up in key situations seemed to be back.
Down 42-39, Ballinger swished a 3-pointer. It was the first tie of the game since tipoff.
With the sudden change in his game, his presence on the court is being noticed by his teammates.
"We definitely need him and we need him bad," senior forward Aloysius Anagonye said. "We need him to continue playing this way if we want to go where we want to."
After the game-sealer, the ear-to-ear smile on MSU head coach Tom Izzo's face gave the sense the big man was on his way to last season's form.
"I do think he's beginning to feel a little more comfortable in himself," Izzo said. "He hit some shots and missed some that we think he should of hit (against Illinois), but overall, I think he's coming back around."
Last year, Ballinger averaged 11.2 points per game, third on the team. But after a couple of weeks of this season, it was visible a different Ballinger was on the court.
The funk began against Kentucky on Dec. 14, when he recorded only six points. He would average a mere three points over the next six games.
In response to the dormant on-court performances, Izzo responded by taking away playing time. The minutes hit an all-time low against Michigan on Jan. 16., when he only saw five minutes of action. For the season, he's averaging 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest.
"It's hard to explain what was going on during that streak," Ballinger said. "As far as everything goes, it seems back to normal and against Indiana on Saturday and the rest of the season, I just want to go out there and play like I can play."
