Thursday, March 28, 2024

Champs to chumps? Izzo's squad in danger

It doesn't seem that long ago nearly the entire MSU community packed into Cedar Village like sardines that magical April night the Spartans ran the gauntlet to the school's second national championship.

Even with the loss of Mateen, Morris and A.J., Spartan fans had visions of - not sugarplums - back-to-back championships dancing in their heads.

The following season, the team returned a solid nucleus - seniors Charlie Bell and Andre Hutson and the high-flying sophomore Jason Richardson - plus a pair of talented freshmen, making the team's attack that much more potent.

In pursuit of another title, that team went 24-3 in the regular season and won the school's fourth consecutive Big Ten regular-season title.

However, the Spartans encountered a slight bump in the road in their Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal tilt with Penn State, falling to the Nittany Lions, 65-63.

Although surprising, the setback didn't deter the team on its way to its third consecutive Final Four. But the Spartans ended up getting mauled by Arizona on a national stage in the national semifinal, 80-61.

Nothing big, right?

Everyone suffers a disappointing loss every now and then, don't they?

Dead wrong.

For the first time since Magic Johnson decided to forgo his final two seasons of eligibility in 1979, MSU lost players before their eligibility ran out. Sophomore Richardson and freshman Zach Randolph decided to leave school in favor of the grind of the NBA season.

Yet, the Spartan dynamo still looked promising for the following season with three key returnees.

Marcus Taylor had shown flashes of brilliance. Aloysius Anagonye wasn't, and still isn't, afraid to bang with anybody. And Adam Ballinger displayed deft shooting of the rock for a big man.

Coupling that with another solid incoming freshman class, and the team was set to make more noise nationally.

But injuries and inexperience kept the team from reaching its full potential and winning its fifth consecutive Big Ten regular-season title.

In the conference tournament, MSU suffered the same fate for the second consecutive season with a 67-56 semifinal loss to eventual national runner-up, Indiana.

Then it happened.

For the first time in five years, MSU didn't advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a heartbreaking loss to North Carolina State, 69-58.

Again, this loss didn't seem to be a cause for alarm.

Each of last year's freshmen - Kelvin Torbert, Chris Hill and Alan Anderson - played well throughout their rookie campaigns. Ballinger and Anagonye would be back for their senior seasons. Two talented big men in Paul Davis and Erazem Lorbek would be joining the team. And sophomore sensation Marcus Taylor was set to anchor the offense as a junior.

I can understand Randolph's and Richardson's reasons for leaving early. Richardson was a lock for the lottery, and talented, soft-handed big men like Randolph don't come along very often.

But Taylor's decision to test the professional waters, thereby forfeiting his last two seasons of college ball, remains a mystery to me.

That decision was even worse than Michael Jackson agreeing to do that interview. He should have known how shady the British media is.

Just like last year, this season has been filled with ups and downs, injuries and close losses - most notably a two-point shortfall against No. 6 Oklahoma.

The hope is still there that the Spartans can make a run in the NCAA Tournament and finish this season on a high note.

But if current trends continue, MSU could be part of another tournament with an acronym - the NIT. To me, that means Not In the real Tournament.

Seems like the NIT is the worst that could happen.

Or is it?

Jason Carmel Davis, a State News sports reporter, thinks the Spartans could win the NIT. E-mail him at davisj44@msu.edu.

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