Being the most experienced player on the MSU roster, one would expect junior center Drew Naymick also to be one of the most reliable. That hasn't always been the case. Now in his fourth year in East Lansing — he earned a medical redshirt for the 2005-06 season after injuring his shoulder — Naymick is still looking for consistency.
It appears he may finally be hitting his stride.
Naymick's best on-court moments at MSU — going back to the Spartans' run to the Final Four in 2005 — have come in the biggest of games.
Against the likes of Chicago State and Belmont, he was all but invisible. But give him a challenge — such as Ohio State's Greg Oden or Indiana's D.J. White — and he'll rise to the occasion.
Perhaps that's why Naymick is playing as well now as he ever has while donning the green and white. The Spartans recently played two games against Ohio State and one each against Wisconsin and Indiana. Naymick played well in all four, frustrating opposing post players and vacuuming in crucial rebounds.
He helped hold Oden to 4-of-10 shooting in a 66-64 MSU loss to the Buckeyes on Jan. 27. While battling flu-like symptoms, Naymick held White to a single field goal on Saturday against Indiana. And against Michigan on Tuesday, he blocked four shots.
"Big games bring the best out in pretty much everybody," Naymick said. "You like to say you approach every game the same, but when you're facing a big-time opponent, like a D.J. White or an Oden, or a team like Wisconsin who is No. 1 in the country, it's human nature — there's a little extra incentive in there for you. You focus in and go a little bit harder."
Sophomore center Goran Suton said Naymick is playing better because he's more relaxed.
"He's focused," Suton said. "Sometimes with him, he gets spacey and forgets to do things. He worries too much about not making a mistake. He's done a great job (lately) of just playing and being comfortable."
Head coach Tom Izzo said Naymick's recent turn for the better may have come from a realization that he needs to perform within his limits. That means less scoring and more post defense and rebounding.
"I think, like everybody else, you want to be a complete player," Izzo said. "And then, you kind of realize, 'What role can I play to make a difference and help this team win?'
"I think he's finally found his niche a little bit. I think he realized that you can help a team win by more than scoring points. He's taken to that."
The 6-foot-10, 245-pounder also is finally regaining confidence in his surgically repaired shoulder.
"Health-wise, when you get an injury, especially to a shoulder, I think it really hurt him to the standpoint of not getting in the mix of things as much," Izzo said. "He used to be a great two-handed rebounder as a freshman. Sophomore and junior year, when he got back, he just wasn't rebounding the same way. He wasn't defending the same way. He couldn't get his arm above his shoulder."
Naymick averaged one rebound per game as a freshman in 2003-04, but only played five minutes per contest. He's averaging just over four rebounds per game this season, and is the team's leading shot-blocker, with 1.7 blocks per outing.
Still, Izzo isn't sure of the exact reason behind Naymick's recent surge. If he was, he'd use the logic on other players who've had up-and-down seasons, such as sophomore big men Marquise Gray and Idong Ibok.
"If I had that answer, I'd use it with 'Quise," Izzo said. "I don't know."
