Friday, March 29, 2024

Young backups ready to play alongside Davis

Naymick, Rowley, freshmen, give Spartans depth

This season, sophomore power forward Delco Rowley and sophomore center Drew Naymick are prime candidates to fill that role in the Spartans' frontcourt.

And with an eager, talented batch of freshmen big men new on campus this season, Rowley and Naymick must step up while the opening is there.

"I'm looking forward to those two coming in and stepping up and playing in these games because I've told them that this is the time to do it," junior center Paul Davis said. "It's now or never for a lot of guys on this team."

Last season, Rowley (1.2 points per game in 14 games) was hampered by injury, and Naymick (0.6 points per game in 22 games) wasn't physically or mentally strong enough to contribute heavy minutes.

"Last year, it seemed like I played a lot better in the games than I would in practice," Naymick said. "I think, personally, I've been practicing a lot better. I have more confidence. I know what I'm doing out there."

This season, Rowley is healthy and assistant coach Dwayne Stephens said Naymick has "gotten a lot better."

"In the post, Drew has one of the best jump hooks on our team - if not the best," said Stephens, who spends a lot of time developing MSU's frontcourt players.

"Right now, Delco's probably the most active out of the big guys when it comes to rebounding, getting his hands on balls and things like that," Stephens said.

Davis, Rowley, Naymick and the three freshman post players - Marquise Gray, Idong Ibok and Goran Suton - give the Spartans a much deeper frontcourt than last year, when swingman Alan Anderson, at 6-foot-6, was often asked to guard larger power forwards.

Anderson will still draw that defensive assignment at times, but MSU coaches expect to have two big men on the court at once - more this season than last, when Davis or then-senior Jason Andreas were sometimes the only "big" on the court.

The prospect of playing alongside another big man has Davis excited.

"If they're playing well, they're getting double teamed and that'll leave me (open)," Davis said.

Rowley and Naymick's experience give them an edge over the freshmen big men in terms of playing time. But nothing is guaranteed and Stephens noted that "no one's really separated themselves from the other guys."

Granted, the Spartans completed only their third practice on Monday, so it's a bit early to establish a set playing rotation.

Unlike freshman point guard Drew Neitzel, who head coach Tom Izzo said will play significant minutes, the three freshmen big men need to develop more before logging considerable time on the court.

All three are quite raw. Gray is a 6-foot-8, athletic forward from Flint who averaged 17 rebounds as a high school senior. Suton, a 6-foot-10 center, led Lansing Everett to the 2004 Class A State Championship. Ibok, with his 7-foot-5 wingspan, has the potential to be a dangerous shot-blocker.

"Right now, they go in spurts," Stephens said of all the freshmen. "You can get away with that in high school, but when you step up to this level, when you go in spurts, that's when you're not going to be effective."

Davis, as the most experienced big man, has taken on the responsibility of mentoring the younger players.

Izzo's intensity can be a lot to handle, Davis said, especially for freshmen.

"You got to pick and choose what you tell them," he said. "But it's a learning process and it's great that they got a couple guys that have been through two years, three years of it, and can tell them what (Izzo's) about and why he does the things he does."

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This year, Izzo has made it clear he's about improving two aspects: rebounding and defense. Which big men embrace that doctrine with success could determine who breaks into the regular rotation.

"We're expected to step up and the first two steps are improving our rebounding and defense," Naymick said. "Those two things have been staples here forever."


A new (big) man

MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo will need his backup big men, notably sophomore forward Delco Rowley and sophomore center Drew Naymick, to step up and play more significant roles this season. They will be expected to aid junior center Paul Davis as the Spartans attempt to return to their trademark rough and tough front-line.

Here are the three front-line players' statistics from last year. Rowley and Naymick, as freshman, only had limited playing time due to injuries.


Games/Started
MPG.
FG pct.
  RPG.
PPG.
Paul Davis
30/30
28.2
.568
6.2
15.8
Delco Rowley
14/1
6.7
.538
1.1
1.2
Drew Naymick
22/0
5.3
.400
1
0.6

Source: MSU Sports Information

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