The MSU basketball team enters the season ranked No. 2 and are picked by many experts to make the NCAA National Championship game. Spartan players react to high expectations and the need to win a national championship.
It was a regular August day when men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo popped into a weight lifting session to check on his team, and walked away with a lasting message from a former great.
The player was Draymond Green, who spent much of his summer in East Lansing working out with the squad, and the message sheds light on just how high the expectations are for the No. 2-ranked Spartans in the 2013-14 season.
“Day-Day came over and said to me, ‘Coach, I’d die to play with this team,’” Izzo said. “From Draymond Green, that was a statement of all statements.”
Green’s words still carry substantial weight in this program, considering all he did was earn Big Ten Player of the Year honors while leading MSU to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament as a senior. His quote illustrates the size of the target on the Spartans’ back this season.
Izzo kicked off his program’s media day on Tuesday by embracing the overwhelming hype surrounding his team.
MSU figures to be one of the top teams in the nation, boasting an impressive combination of experience and pure talent unique to today’s college game, led by sophomore guard Gary Harris and senior center Adreian Payne, who delayed potential NBA careers to return to East Lansing.
The Spartans return four starters and six of their top seven scorers from last year’s 27-9 season that ended with a Sweet 16 loss to Duke in last year’s Big Dance.
“You think you have a chance every year; you don’t,” Izzo said. “I mean, you have to sell it that way to them, to sometimes alums, to sometimes media. But every year, you don’t have the same chance you have in certain years.
“This is just one of those times where you have an opportunity to do something that will last a lifetime.”
MSU’s title hopes are aided by the fact that many key players, such as junior forward Branden Dawson, junior guard Travis Trice, Harris and last year’s freshman class completed their first full summer practicing together. Whether it was injury, illness or other circumstances, that bunch of contributors missed out on the invaluable summer period with each other last season, where most significant team growth occurs.
Championship-caliber expectations this season are coupled with a championship-caliber schedule that includes preseason No. 1 Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas and Georgetown.
For Izzo’s program, this year also has more riding on it than simply chasing his elusive second national championship. Every four-year player under his tutelage has reached a Final Four — a streak that’s in jeopardy this season.
“(It’s) not something I harp on every day,” Izzo said of the streak. “They’ve got enough pressure on them. I think there are so many reasons to get to a Final Four that are beyond being just good enough. But they’re aware of it, that’s for sure.”
The Spartans have exhibition matchups at home against Grand Valley State and Indiana University of Pennsylvania on Oct. 29 and Nov. 4. The regular season begins with a clash against McNeese State at 7 p.m. on Nov. 8 at Breslin Center.
Take an interactive look at this year’s squad by clicking on the following pictures to see expectations and improvements for each player.
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