After fouling out and shooting 0-for-3 with one rebound against Nebraska, redshirt junior forward Joey Hauser approached Head Coach Tom Izzo with a request not many would expect.
Hauser was honest with himself — he told his coach he felt like he wasn’t playing well — but felt like sophomore forward Malik Hall was. He requested his spot in the starting lineup, which has been one of the only consistent spots this season, go to Hall for the Spartans game against Penn State.
“I wouldn’t lie to you, if I said that in this day and age, that was surprising when he (Hauser) came in,” Izzo said. “I think he’s just searching. I love guys that can self-evaluate and he knows he hasn’t been playing as good."
Izzo listened, calling Hall that night to explain to him the change. The team was told the next day at practice, just over 24 hours before the Spartans' 60-58 victory over Penn State.
“It was kind of surprising,” Junior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. said. “But at the same time if he (Hauser) sees that as a player, then he’s helping us out just because he’s trying to work his way through his little kinks.”
Hall didn't just work out the kinks — he adapted well.
With it being his first start since March 3, 2020, the sophomore finished with 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Above all else, he played aggressively. Hall was pushing through PSU’s lengthy defenders in the paint to find himself at the line all game, but he struggled on 4-for-7 free-throw shooting.
“The only thing he struggled with was with free throws. He rebounded really good, got some big-time rebounds,” Izzo said of Hall. “Malik’s a smart kid too.”
As for Hauser, he finished with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, his best since Jan. 28 against Rutgers, as well as landing a perfect two at the line. He also snagged two rebounds and dished out three assists.
“Tonight I just thought he had more confidence, he took the ball off the dribble,” Izzo said. “I think he just said, ‘To hell with it, I’m going to play,’ and that’s kind of what these kids have to do.”
Izzo clarified that he still sees Hauser as a pivotal contributor to the Spartan lineup because of his shooting ability. Izzo did not alter his minutes drastically as Hauser still saw 21 minutes from the bench.
It’s not likely a change that will be set in stone, but it’s one that displayed a wave of accountability that Izzo described as “personally rewarding.”
“It’s pretty cool when two guys were pulling for each other hard,” Izzo said. “It’s that kind of moment every season you need something and let’s face it, we dug a big hole, some of it our fault some of it not our fault, but things like that tell the rest of the players how selfless somebody is and I think it was a monumental step.”
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