On Friday, as the No. 2 Spartans (1-0) beat Eastern Michigan (0-1), 96-66, at Breslin Center, it appeared the junior guard finally found his stroke, going 3-for-5 from the field and making all four of his free throw attempts.

Izzo said Thornton had a hitch in his shot last year and lacked the confidence a spot-up shooter needs. However, Izzo and Thornton said confidence is not an issue this season, and it is showing on the court.

“I think the reason (Izzo) talks about a little bit of a hitch last year is because I was more hesitant to not miss instead of making a shot,” Thornton said.

“This year, I’ve shot a lot of balls and made a lot of shots. I just have to step into it and knock it down.”

Before the season, Izzo said Thornton had worked his way into a more significant role after two years as mostly a mop-up duty player. That increase in playing time was evident Friday, as Thornton played 22 minutes and scored a career-high
10 points.

Thornton’s productivity on the offensive end was solid, but Izzo said he is most valuable in other areas of the game, especially on defense, where Thornton had two steals and brought in four rebounds. As someone just looking for playing time, Thornton said he is happy with his role.

“It’s not my job to go out there and create and be flashy,” Thornton said. “It’s to be solid on defense and rebound and run the lanes.”

And Izzo said he’s glad Thornton finally has found a niche on a team loaded with talent after an offseason full of hard work.

“He worked his tail off this summer and is getting some of the things he deserves,” Izzo said. “That’s nice to see.”

New roles

While Thornton played a bigger role than usual Friday night, junior forward Draymond Green and freshman guard Keith Appling found themselves playing slightly different roles than they are accustomed to.

Green, who was the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year last season playing mostly power forward, started the game at small forward.

Meanwhile, Appling was forced to play more point guard than expected, because of the absence of senior guard Mike Kebler (injury) and junior guard Korie Lucious (suspension).

Izzo said he was happy with the way both players played, especially Appling, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half after struggling through the first 20 minutes.

He had three turnovers and no assists in the first half, but dished out three assists in the second half, with two turnovers.

“I thought he started off real rough, but I thought he bounced back,” Izzo said of Appling. “Considering he played like one or two days of point guard since he’s been here, I thought he did a marvelous job.”

No more loose screws

Sophomore center Derrick Nix has received plenty of attention for his physical change from last season.

But Izzo said after Friday’s game that fellow sophomore and frontcourt mate Garrick Sherman deserves some credit as well.

“There’s a transformation there,” Izzo said of
Sherman.

“He’s using that right and left hand, and he had a couple of nice moves.”

Sherman finished the game with eight points and eight rebounds in one of the more impressive performances of his MSU career.

Last year, Sherman was slowed down by screws put in his foot during his sophomore year of high school.

Now that the screws are gone and he’s spent a full year in the weight room, Sherman said after practice Sunday he feels better than ever.

“I feel 10 times better than I did last year,” Sherman said. “I’m not playing in pain, I feel good.”