Derrick Nix never has been afraid to speak his mind and at times, it’s been known to land the senior center in hot water.
After the MSU men’s basketball team trounced Michigan, 72-52, on Feb. 12, Nix told members of the media he believed the Spartans (24-7 overall, 13-5 Big Ten) were underrated, addressing both the way the team was covered by the national media and the professional prospects of his teammates.
“I just feel that way, but I can’t do nothing,” Nix said at the time. “I don’t know if it’s us as players, I don’t know if it’s Michigan State — I don’t know what it is. You know, none of us get credit.”
From there, the Spartans dropped three of the next four games, including games against then-No. 1 Indiana, then-No. 18 Ohio State and then-No. 4 Michigan. The losses forced an uphill battle for a share of the Big Ten Championship — a battle that ended Sunday when No. 6 Michigan lost to No. 3 Indiana.
With time for reflection, Nix said his comments about his team’s status in the public eye significantly hurt MSU’s chances for a conference title.
“The last time (the media) was talking to me, I started saying some crazy stuff and made some people mad, and that’s why we didn’t win the Big Ten,” Nix said. “They affected us a lot. They did. That’s all I’m gonna say; those comments affected us a lot.”
The comments ruffled some feathers with head coach Tom Izzo, who declined to address them after the Spartans dropped the Feb. 19 loss to the Hoosiers.
But it’s tough to indicate how much of an impact Nix’s comments actually made, given the caliber of opponents on the Big Ten schedule. According to CBSSports.com, the Spartans have the fourth-toughest strength of schedule in all of college basketball, including the toughest schedule in the Big Ten.
Izzo said he’s proud of what his team has done heading into the postseason, given the road it has taken them to get there.
“It won’t change the fact that this team went through the most brutal schedule,” Izzo said. “It is one of the most brutal schedules in the whole country. Last year, our schedule was ranked No. 1 in the country.
“We’ve ducked nobody and I’m so proud of that and (MSU athletic director) Mark Hollis is and the president (Lou Anna K. Simon) is.”
Addressing the crowd during the Senior Day ceremony on Sunday, Nix surprised many with his brief and modest remarks, thanking his teammates, his mother Darlis Nix and Izzo before surrendering the microphone.
Taking to heart the lessons of refraining his honesty for the for the right time, Nix said he understands the difference between Izzo’s honesty and his own.
“It is (different),” Nix said. “But he gets $3 million per year and I don’t get nothing so he can talk big — I can’t.”
MSU enter the Big Ten Tournament slated to play the winner of No. 6-seeded Iowa and No. 11-seeded Northwestern on Friday at the United Center in Chicago.
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