As a high school senior, Jason Andreas was visiting his future college - MSU.

While riding home with former Spartan A.J. Granger, Andreas asked him what practices were like. Granger didn't say anything about sprints, jump shots, MSU head coach Tom Izzo berating players or free throws - he mentioned the war drill.

Andreas was confused, but five years later, he understands why it is a staple of MSU basketball and a part of the program that keeps the Spartans among the elite.

"It's pretty much war," said Andreas, a senior center. "You don't really know what it's like until you get in there for the first time. You did rebounding drills in high school, but it's not quite the same.

"I broke my nose three times in three weeks - twice from this drill. There are guys flying on the floor, and every day, there is somebody with a bloody nose or a cut eye coming out of the drill. The thing about it - it's fun."

The point of the drill - rebounding.

The Spartans used to be known as kings of the glass, but in recent years, Izzo says his teams haven't been as tough - causing the rebounding to suffer. But through the tough and trying times, the war drill has been the one constant at all MSU practices.

"It's the one drill in practice you can count on us doing every day," Andreas said. "When you have the most fun in the drill is when all the guys come in 100 percent with no fear and hit each other."

"The thing is, you can't come in afraid or at 85 percent, 90 percent or you're going to get run over. It teaches the guys not to be afraid to get their bodies hit."

The drill goes as follows: Two teams of five are given positions. The five on one team line up with both feet in the paint, while members of the other team have least one foot touching the 3-point line. One of the assistant coaches shoots the ball toward the hoop and intentionally tries to miss to create a big rebound attempt.

As soon as the ball leaves the coach's hand, bedlam breaks loose. Muscles are flexing, elbows are flying, mouths are jawing and, uncharacteristically, basketball looks like football.

The job is for the five guys inside the paint to keep the opponents from getting inside and to make their attempt as grueling as possible.

"You have to run in there with no fear, not afraid to get your body hit," Andreas said. "You can't run in there with your arms down. You can't jump with your eyes closed. I think the drill, and Coach Izzo's philosophy of teaching the drill, is what made MSU one of the best rebounding teams in the country."

Izzo, who has said he would love to get in the game of football after his basketball days are over, came up with the drill in his first year of coaching. His team wasn't shooting the ball well, so he wanted to get them more aggressive on the offensive glass.

Soon after, the defensive rebounding needed work, so he turned the drill into a two-in-one operation.

"It started in (Antonio Smith's) freshman year and it never changed," Izzo said. "But it's nothing near what it was.

"It's powderpuff ball now. It was a true war back then. We go at it now, but it's not with the same physical nature."

That physical nature is what the Spartans have been trying to find all season, and it explains the team's inconsistency in the rebounding department.

MSU has outrebounded its opponent in just 10 of the 19 games this season, tying in that category once. But, games like the one against South Florida, where the Spartans were outboarded 29-21, puzzle not only Izzo, but the players.

"The way we do the war drill in practice, we feel like we should be able to rebound in a game," sophomore center Paul Davis said. "I mean, there are no fouls in the war drill, so it should be a lot easier to rebound in games then it is in practice."

Part of MSU's recent success (six wins in seven games) has been because of cleaning up the glass. Davis said he and his teammates have tightened their focus and are using their bodies more.

For the current Spartans team, rebounding isn't just important to gain possession, it's a must in order to push the ball up the floor and get the transition game going.

There is no question these Spartans were born to run, and Izzo said he wants to be a more offensive team.

The one sure way to light up the scoreboard is to get more shots, which requires a faster tempo. And the way to get a fast tempo is to grab a rebound and push the ball up the floor.

"Our rebounding has been better, but not to the standard I think it's going to take to compete for a league championship," Izzo said. "We're trying to improve in that area for sure.

"Delco (Rowley) could have been one of those guys (that could have helped us), but the injury hurt him. We're not very big inside and rebounding isn't one of Paul's strengths. Saying all those things, I've been disappointed in our wing guys and that they haven't turned into the Charlie Bells, the Morris Petersons, the Jason Richardsons, and are really taking that to heart."

Junior guard Chris Hill is one of the players that can benefit from a fast-tempo game, and he knows better rebounding equals greater success.

"We can't afford to get outrebounded," Hill said. "We're not going to be able to get where we want to go if we don't control the glass."