“Obviously, with some of the graduation in recent years, we really needed a point guard,” MSU head coach Suzy Merchant said. “I expect Brittney to come in and play quite a bit and learn and sort of throw her into the fire a little bit and let her figure things out. I think if there’s anyone that can do it, Brittney Thomas can do that.”

Thomas, a 5-foot-10 freshman from Bolingbrook, Ill., led her high school team to a 117-7 record in four seasons and was a first-team all-state selection as a senior, when she averaged 13.6 points per game.

Two of Thomas’ main responsibilities will be avoiding turnovers and getting the ball inside to MSU’s talented posts — sophomores Lauren Aitch and Allyssa DeHaan and junior Aisha Jefferson.

“Coach Merchant’s game plan is to work inside out,” Thomas said. “We just have to work on getting the ball in, especially when they start dominating because that’s going to make the ball come back out and let our guards shoot a couple shots.”

But a big task for Thomas will be adjusting to all 6-foot-9 of DeHaan, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

“I’ve never been able to play with a player with so much height before,” Thomas said. “I think it’s new for me to be able to give her the ball. A lot of the post players I’ve worked with in the past, they were tall, but they were more bangers, so a bounce pass (would work), so if someone has that height, you want to give them the ball high. It’s a learning experience, and I’m still adjusting, but it’s definitely a privilege I’d like to have.”

So far, her coach has been impressed.

“She has been an incredibly bright spot for our program,” Merchant said. “She is incredibly athletic, she’s defensive minded and she has a high basketball IQ.”

Johnson out

After tearing her right ACL in a game of 3-on-3 during the summer, junior guard Mia Johnson is not expected to play until Big Ten play begins in late December.

“Rehab is going really well,” Johnson said. “Everybody says that healing is a slow process and you wish you could go faster … but everything’s on track. I’m probably a little bit ahead, but time will tell.”

Johnson averaged 8.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 29.6 minutes per game last season, her first at MSU.

“She is pretty committed,” Merchant said. “Our goal isn’t to push her, but I think it’s her goal to push herself to get back out here the sooner the better, but at the same time, she needs time to recover as well.”

Johnson tore her left ACL in high school, so she has experience in rehabilitating the injury but said the comeback is as much mental as it is physical.