Following an improved performance in the NCAA Tournament last season and a solid offseason, sophomore guard Maurice Ager was expected to factor heavily into the Spartans' rotation of players this season.
Now, they'd be happy if he could walk.
Since scoring 34 points in MSU's Green and White game on Oct. 25, Ager aggravated a persistent Achilles' tendon problem, then sprained the other ankle 10 minutes into his first practice back.
The loss of MSU's high-rising scoring threat has head coach Tom Izzo frustrated, but with 11 days between the Spartans' 97-83 exhibition loss to the Harlem Globetrotters on Nov. 2 and Thursday's exhibition closer against Nike Elite, time is on Ager's side.
"I'm hoping he'll practice tomorrow and play a little bit on Thursday," Izzo said. "But I don't expect him to play a lot."
Izzo said although Ager's ankle problems kept him on the shelf against the Globetrotters, the most recent injury wasn't severe enough for it to happen again. The diagnosis for the rest of the Spartans is positive.
"As far as the rest of the team, the health is good, and we're anxious to redeem ourselves," Izzo said.
Elite aspirations
While the Globetrotters banged and crashed inside on their way to a double-digit win, Izzo said he expects the Nike Elite team to bring just the opposite Thursday.
"It'll be a game that will probably go up and down," Izzo said. "(Nike Elite is) maybe a more athletic team than the Globetrotters were.
"Probably a better perimeter shooting team other than (the Globetrotters' Darrick Martin), who ate us alive."
Martin went 5-for-10 from beyond the arc against the Spartans on Nov. 2, leading all scorers with 38 points.
Interior toughness, though, from senior center Jason Andreas and redshirt freshman Delco Rowley remains an issue despite what Izzo called a good week of practice for the pair.
"I think they need to realize what they can do for us," Izzo said. "Maybe most important - rebound better."
It ain't easy being 3
Questioning the validity of preseason college basketball polls is hardly a novel idea, but at least they're looking consistent this season.
The Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll was released Monday with the Spartans in familiar standing. Like the ESPN/USA Today preseason poll released on Oct. 30, MSU is ranked No. 3 in the country by the AP with one first-place vote.
UConn and Duke remain ahead of the Spartans in the Associated Press poll, ranked first and second respectively.
Envelope, please
Junior guard Chris Hill and sophomore center Paul Davis were named along with 28 others Friday as preseason candidates for the Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award.
The Spartans are one of only six schools to have teammates on the candidates' list. Illinois' Dee Brown and Indiana's Bracey Wright are the only other nominees from the Big Ten.
Brown was selected in late October as the media's favorite to win Big Ten Player of the Year this season.
