It had not been a good week for Drew Neitzel.

The sophomore guard played arguably his worst game of the season against Minnesota last Saturday, missing seven of eight shots and recording more turnovers (four) than points (three). He followed that with another frustrating game at Iowa on Tuesday, finishing with his fewest assists in more than a month.

And sadly, that wasn't the worst part. Not even close.

That's because shortly before the Minnesota game, Neitzel found out that his friend from high school, Marine Cpl. Ross A. Smith of Wyoming, Mich., had been killed while serving in Iraq.

Neitzel played with a heavy heart against the Gophers, opting not to tell his teammates or coaches about the loss until after the game. Even then, it was a difficult time for him.

So when, late in MSU's game against Michigan on Saturday at Breslin Center, Neitzel took a loose ball, sprinted it up court, dribbled behind his back, kicked the ball out to junior guard Shannon Brown, got it back and drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put MSU up by 22, you couldn't blame him for getting a little emotional.

He bounced back down the court, letting out a resounding yell. When Michigan called a timeout to try to silence the now-deafening crowd, Neitzel found Brown, hugged him from behind, then gave him a playful rub of the cornrows.

"Finally, after struggling through games, that was the kind of moment where just everything kind of started clicking and we felt like that same old Michigan State team that we know we're capable of being," Neitzel said.

And it was the Drew Neitzel he's capable of being, too. Neitzel recorded his first career double-double in MSU's 90-71 thrashing of the Wolverines, finishing with 13 points, 12 assists and only one turnover. It was the most assists by a Spartan since Mateen Cleaves had 20 on March 4, 2000.

"I thought Neitzel played terrific," Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker said. "I thought his floor game was outstanding. Sometimes he doesn't get enough credit."

That's an understatement, Tommy. Neitzel is arguably the most underappreciated athlete in all of East Lansing.

For one, he gets overlooked because, well, he doesn't really look like an athlete. He's an unimposing 6 feet tall. If you saw him in the cafeteria, you probably wouldn't think to ask him for an autograph. You'd probably ask him where the ketchup was.

And second, he's surrounded by a Murderers' Row of scorers in Brown, senior guard Maurice Ager and senior center Paul Davis.

It's easy to overlook a nice pass when the final product of it is a reverse layup by Brown. Or a 28-footer by Ager. Or a thunder dunk by Davis.

In that sense, Neitzel is like the waiter at a fancy restaurant who brings you your filet mignon. You appreciate the act, but you're there for the finished product.

That's OK with him. After all, it's hard to get assists when nobody around you is scoring.

But Neitzel also has been getting a lot of criticism to be more aggressive himself. It's come from head coach Tom Izzo, a former point guard. It's come from assistant coaches Mark Montgomery and Jim Boylen, also former points guards. It's come from a lot of fans, who think they're former point guards.

After all, it's hard for someone to criticize Brown for not finishing a 360 dunk because, well, none of us could do it. But for a position like Neitzel's in which the primary responsibility is decision-making, anybody on their couch thinks they can do better.

It's a hard balance to strike. Score more, Drew. Help that guy score more, Drew.

But it appears that, at least for now, all those chefs aren't spoiling the broth. Neitzel has scored in double-figures in six of the last eight games, and appears to be developing into the dual-threat point guard the Spartans so desperately needed.

"My career so far has been kind of robotic, where I just run the play instead of trying to make plays happen," Neitzel said. "I think I did a better job of that today."

He did, helping MSU avenge its earlier loss to the Wolverines and keep its Big Ten title hopes afloat.

"More than revenge, we just needed a win," Neitzel said.

And more than anything, it was nice just to see Neitzel smiling again.

Tom Keller is a State News men's basketball reporter. Reach him at kellert1@msu.edu.