In front of a Breslin Center crowd that was buzzing with anticipation Saturday, Drew Neitzel, MSU's point guard of the future and recently-crowned Mr. Basketball of Michigan, scored 36 points and showed why he could be the missing ingredient for the Spartans next season.
It was the biggest game of Neitzel's high school career, and it was on the biggest stage. Breslin was sold out for the Class B semifinal game that pitted Neitzel's Wyoming Park against heavily favored Detroit Renaissance, which had the first and second runners up to Mr. Basketball on its roster: Joseph Crawford and Malik Hairston.
Despite the potential for a blowout, demand to see the game was so high that tickets outside the sold-out arena were going for $50 a pop. It was probably because fans wondered if Neitzel was for real. Did he really deserve the Mr. Basketball award over Crawford and Hairston, both McDonald's All-Americans? Could he compete in the Big Ten, a conference known for its physical play, despite his skinny 6-foot frame?
"I faced a lot of doubt my whole life," Neitzel said. "A lot of people say I can't be successful because of my size and strength."
After the first quarter Saturday, the doubters were loud and clear. As Neitzel struggled, Crawford dazzled, scoring 11 points and leading Renaissance to a 27-8 lead. Renaissance supporters screamed for a Mr. Basketball "recount" and held up signs that read, "Will the real Mr. Basketball please stand up?"
Undeterred, Neitzel bounced back and played like the state's best prep player. He drained three 3-pointers in the second quarter - part of his 23 first-half points - and brought his team to within nine points at halftime. Neitzel's heroics, however, would fall short as Wyoming Park lost to Renaissance, 78-63. Neitzel finished with 36 points, six assists and four rebounds.
"I'm not really worried about proving my critics wrong," Neitzel said after the game. "There's always going to be people doubting you. I just want to come out and play up to my potential, and I think I did that for the most part tonight."
After the game, Spartans Alan Anderson, Kelvin Torbert, Shannon Brown and Matt Trannon visited the Wyoming Park locker room and offered some words of encouragement. Neitzel said it was a good example of MSU basketball's family atmosphere.
"That's why I came to Michigan State," he said.
Neitzel verbally committed to MSU after his sophomore year in high school. He said the coaching staff and proximity to home also were major factors in his decision.
Though Neitzel has been under MSU's belt for some time, he was still a relative unknown before Saturday's game. Plenty of fans had heard of him, but few had seen him play.
MSU basketball graduate manager Rick Carter, who coached Neitzel's AAU team last year, attended Saturday's game and said things have changed since then.
"Everybody wants to know more about Drew Neitzel because of the performance he put on," he said.
As Neitzel's coach, Carter said he was most impressed with the point guard's work ethic. Carter said he was spoiled by Neitzel's intensity and drive to succeed.
"Every other kid that I work out is really a letdown," Carter said.
Neitzel's exceptional work ethic might explain his ability to shoot with both hands. He's just as likely to pull up for a left-handed 3-pointer as he is to lose a defender with a cross-over dribble, then nail a right-handed running jump shot from 10 feet.
When he was younger, Neitzel said his dad, Craig, taught him to develop basketball skills with both hands. Neitzel says he's naturally right-handed, but he concedes, "I can do most everything with either hand."
That includes whipping passes to teammates, something Neitzel will be asked to do plenty of next season as a freshman at MSU. Head coach Tom Izzo said whether Neitzel starts will depend on what juniors Anderson and Chris Hill - the tandem that handled most of the point-guard responsibilities this season - do this summer.
"I don't think there's any question we're missing a true point guard," Izzo said. "I think Drew Neitzel has a chance to be very, very good because he's done it against a lot of different kinds of people already. But my thing is to get a team in there that can win a Big Ten Championship. That's my number one goal next year."
Neitzel, too, has noticed the lack of a point guard at MSU, and he said he's not too young to take on a leadership role.
"I really just want to go in there and lead those guys," he said. "Hopefully, we'll bring home a Big Ten Championship and make a big run in the NCAA Tournament next year and hopefully get back to the Final Four."
