Unlike some players who feed off the venom spewed by their critics, Morgan doesn’t dignify his naysayers with so much as a shrug. He’s never felt the need to defend himself to outsiders, not even when their opinions are patently unfair.

So when Morgan heard people call him an underachiever during the past couple months, he didn’t work himself into a tizzy — not even when those critics weren’t aware of the health issues he endured simply to play at all.

“I don’t really get into that,” responded Morgan after being asked to rebuff ESPN analyst Digger Phelps’ recent criticism that he has underachieved. “He’s got his opinions, that’s fine.”

In some ways, you can’t blame people for not knowing the full extent of Morgan’s fight against walking pneumonia and mononucleosis.

After all, he was never very outspoken about the illness that, for about six weeks starting in mid-January, stifled his athletic ability, reduced his stamina, made him at least 10 pounds lighter and caused his scoring average to drop from 14.8 points his first 17 games to just 2.4 points over his next seven.

It’s not that he didn’t have opportunities to speak up.

After nearly every practice and game, reporters would make it a priority to find Morgan and pepper him with questions about his health.

Each time, Morgan remained as tight-lipped as a mime, refusing to delve into detail about how the symptoms had affected his play.

Had Morgan been more outspoken about his illness, maybe people wouldn’t have been so quick to disparage him, senior center Goran Suton said.

“Raymar’s gone through a lot,” Suton said.

“I think I know that better than any outsider out there, and if they knew what he’s gone through they wouldn’t be saying those things.”

‘A new season’

Despite everything he has endured this season, the last thing Morgan wants is your pity.

That’s why he can’t wait for 9:50 p.m. Friday, when the No. 2-seed Spartans are scheduled to begin their NCAA Tournament bid against Robert Morris in Minneapolis.

Morgan said he’s looking at the tournament as a clean state — an opportunity to avenge some of his personal shortcomings with a strong finish.

“The tournament is a new season,” Morgan said. “This is an opportunity for everybody to do better and show what we can do.”

For the Spartans to make a deep run in the tournament, they will need Morgan to take full advantage of that chance at redemption.

On a team that boasts the Big Ten Player of the Year (sophomore guard Kalin Lucas), Defensive Player of the Year (senior guard Travis Walton) and a second-team All-Big Ten Player (Suton), Morgan is the ultimate wild card.

If he plays like he did the first half of the season when he led MSU in scoring, the Spartans will have all the dynamics of a Final Four contender.

But if he plays like he did during the Big Ten Tournament, when he scored just 10 points in two games despite claiming he was healthy, MSU will be more likely to experience an early exit.

“This year was going to be a special year for him at first,” Walton said. “He was playing great, he was going to get a lot of hype. It’s bad that things happened to him, but things happen for a reason, so maybe he’s going to come out and have a great postseason and open everybody’s eyes.”

Morgan’s value to the team exceeds anything that can be quantified on a stat sheet.

His versatility on offense causes matchup problems, and his savvy makes the Spartans much more cohesive defensively.

His value became especially clear during the first few games when he was withheld from the rotation.

“When we lost a couple of games in the Big Ten, I think we looked at Raymar as our MVP,” Suton said. “He’s got unbelievable talent, he’s probably the strongest guy on the team if not one of the strongest and he’s just a great kid.

“His rebounding, his scoring, his defensive intensity — all the little things he does are necessary for us to make a run in this tournament.”

MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said Morgan is starting to regain his confidence.

“I’ve seen a big step in Ray, especially in the last couple weeks,” Izzo said Thursday in Minneapolis. “He’s just getting more comfortable back into things. He has made some progress in games and hopefully he will this weekend.”

Two different people

When he’s not playing basketball, Morgan said he’s as boring as he is intense on the court.

Because he plays with such emotion, he has created the perception that he’s a whiner.

The image of Morgan contesting a foul has been stained in the minds of MSU fans — some who even feel he’s been a bad influence on the team’s younger players.

Teammates and coaches can only scoff at the notion that Morgan has been a burden in any way — especially considering the professionalism and selflessness he’s shown under such ominous personal circumstances.

“Raymar took a sacrifice. He sacrificed his stats, everything he can do for this team,” Walton said. “When you’re that type of player and you got that much talent and you don’t live up to what people think you should do, they’re going to talk about you.”

Starting this weekend, Morgan has a chance to become that player. If he doesn’t, he knows the criticism will perpetuate throughout the offseason and inevitably resurface before tournament time next season.

Although he says the criticism doesn’t bother him, Morgan doesn’t wanted to be remembered as a player who never reached his potential.

He wants to go down as one of MSU’s all-time greats.

And he knows there’s only one thing he can do.

“I’ve got to step up and get some things done for my team,” he said. “I’ve realized that and now is the perfect time to do it.”