Head coach Tom Izzo critiqued most of his roster during his end-of-the-season press conference last Thursday. He was satisfied with the growth many of his players displayed this season, but he was pretty blunt in his analysis of sophomore forward Gavin Schilling, who struggled mightily with foul trouble for most of the year.
Izzo felt that Schilling did not commit to basketball as much as he should have last offseason, and his lack of growth this season is a result of that.
“My honesty will get me in trouble, but Gavin has to fall in love with the game,” Izzo said. “I think sometimes we assume that every player that plays football, basketball, hockey, baseball, is committed. There’s a commitment, and there’s a commitment, and to be great, there’s got to be a commitment that’s as consistent as breathing, and it’s got to be every day.”
Schilling often looked lost on the court, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to pick up three fouls before the end of the first half. Save for a brief strong stretch in February, foul trouble kept Schilling off the court and hindered his ability to make impact plays.
Izzo compared Schilling’s troubles to the team’s issues at the free throw line. MSU never completely solved its free throw woes but found other ways to win games. Schilling has to find a way to impact the game regardless of his foul count.
“When you get frustrated that you are not able to making a layup or shot, it affects a lot of your game,” Izzo said. “When you get frustrated that you are not making a free throw it affects your team. So I look at the team things we were frustrated with back in January, and we improved it not by shooting it that much better but by realizing we had to take other avenues. Gotta make our layups. What can we control more? I think it’s the same for Gavin.”
With two incoming five star power forwards in Deyonta Davis and Caleb Swanigan, along with the return of junior forward Matt Costello, freshman forward Marvin Clark and junior walk-on forward Colby Wollenman, minutes at the forward spot will be tightly contested next season.
Izzo is having exit interviews with each of his players this week to get a sense of where each player is at. Part of the job, Izzo says, is helping players figure out where they want to be.
“Eventually you gotta look in mirror and you have to figure out what you want to be with our guidance to try and push you there,” Izzo said.
