Sophomore forward Raymar Morgan (2) gives junior center Goran Suton a hand Nov. 14 after getting fouled and scoring against Louisiana-Monroe at Breslin Center. MSU head coach Tom Izzo said he is not worried about Morgan
When all the stars align, the Spartans can run with just about anybody in the country, MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said.
But when he talks about everyone contributing, he means from top to bottom — from the starting five to the assistant coaches.
“I look at my assistants and say we’ve got to get more out of them, too,” Izzo said. “You can’t be too passionate about something if you’re too laid back. I tell them to remind me that.
“But I think we’ve got as good a staff as anybody in the country when it comes to preparation.”
Izzo said some of his players – freshman guards Chris Allen and Kalin Lucas and junior center Goran Suton — have stepped up their game, progressing through the season.
“I guess what we have is a very solid defensive team, a very good rebounding team and a team that can run,” he said.
“But we haven’t been able to see all of that.”
Junior forward Marquise Gray is the final piece to the complete puzzle, Izzo said. The Spartans are 13-1 in games in which Gray has scored in double figures.
“Maybe I’m looking for utopia, but I think I should because he’s good enough,” Izzo said.
“I wouldn’t be afraid of anybody. Some teams I’d love to play.”
Don’t panic
After three “average” performances in a row, Izzo is not ready to panic about sophomore forward Raymar Morgan’s performance.
Morgan, who leads the team in scoring and had a league-best 20 straight double-digit scoring performances, has scored 10 points or fewer in the last three MSU contests.
“It hasn’t been bad,” Izzo said.
“I said at Iowa when he had maybe his worst game that it was still pretty good.”
Morgan battled foul trouble against Ohio State and terrible first-half free-throw shooting at Minnesota.
But body language — the aspect of Morgan’s game that Izzo has been monitoring closely all season — has been fine.
“I’ve not seen any fallout,” Izzo said.
“Was he as good the other night as he was against Minnesota the first night? Of course not,” he said. “But was he banging his head like last year? I think he’s solved 90 percent of that and that’s to his credit.”
Not so fast
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On the other end of the spectrum, Izzo wasn’t quite ready to say that senior guard Drew Neitzel is back to his old form.
The preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, Neitzel’s shooting and scoring figures have been down slightly and have received much attention.
Izzo has said that the differential can be attributed to multiple sources — fewer shot clock-beating shots, more assists, more alternative scorers — but he hasn’t been worried.
“We’re not ready to say it’s all over and it’s like last year,” Izzo said. “Shooting is like throwing a football or baseball. Confidence does add to it. He’s been feeling better about his game and shooting. It was good to see him make lots of big shots, not just one or two.”
MSU faces Northwestern at 9 p.m. Thursday in Evanston, Ill.
