Eight schools, three days and unlimited college basketball — now that's paradise. This year's EA Sports Maui Invitational was pegged as the best ever, with four schools in the preseason Top 10.
The men's basketball team was given a brief scare recently when one of its most indispensable players went down with an injury. Junior guard Shannon Brown sustained a bruised rib during an exhibition game Monday against Lake Superior State when he collided with redshirt freshman forward Marquise Gray.
There are still some question marks for the MSU men's basketball team as its regular season opener approaches.
Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager are murderous on the wings. MSU's tandem of athletic guards has shown an ability to finish dunks and alley-oops on the fast break that is nearly unparalleled in the realm of college basketball. But with the departure of Kelvin Torbert, Chris Hill, Alan Anderson and Tim Bograkos, there is a question as to whether or not the duo will be able to get up and down the court at the same break-neck pace as in previous seasons. Depth is now a major concern in the MSU backcourt, with the only feasible substitutes for Ager, Brown and sophomore point guard Drew Neitzel being two unproven freshmen: Maurice Joseph and Travis Walton.
There's no shortage of big bodies eager to mix it up in the paint on the MSU men's basketball team. Though the inexperienced White squad fell to the Green squad, 84-44, its frontcourt demonstrated the talent and resolve necessary to give MSU a solid bench throughout the upcoming season. Redshirt freshmen Idong Ibok and Goran Suton showed no hesitation in attacking the basket from the low block during Saturday's Green-White scrimmage, despite being matched up against more experienced players.
Chicago — The expectations keep growing for the MSU men's basketball team. MSU is ranked near the top in most preseason publications, and now they have one more expectation to live up to: preseason Big Ten favorite. Head coach Tom Izzo's squad was selected as the favorite by the media attending Sunday's Big Ten basketball Media Day. "It's best to be picked high and try to meet those expectations than it is to be picked low and try to beat those expectations," Izzo said. Last year's national runner-up Illinois and Indiana follow the Spartans in the poll. "There's probably seven or eight teams in the conference that can be competitive," said Bruce Weber, Illinois' head coach and the reigning national Coach of the Year.
Fans will get their first glimpse of the MSU men's basketball team in the annual Green-White game at Breslin Center on Saturday. The game will tip 20 minutes after the conclusion of the MSU football game. Most of the players agree this year's team will be better than last season's Final Four participant, since it has four starters returning — sophomore guard Drew Neitzel, junior guard Shannon Brown, senior guard Maurice Ager and senior center Paul Davis. "We've got two of the best athletes in the country playing the wings," Davis said.
The MSU men's basketball team received its third verbal commitment from the class of 2006 — this one coming from 7-foot center Tom Herzog. The Flint native is ranked as the 11th best center in the class by www.scouthoops.com and settled on MSU last Friday. "Herzog is going to be a great player down the line," said Jeff Goodman, a national recruiting expert for www.scouthoops.com.
With preseason camp in full swing, MSU head coach Tom Izzo doesn't have very much to worry about. After all, his team is coming off its fourth Final Four appearance in seven years and has four of five starters returning.
Sirens filled the air as flashing police motorcycles led the way for MSU women's basketball head coach Joanne P.
MSU men's head basketball coach Tom Izzo secured his second verbal commitment from the top tier of the class of 2006 - Raymar Morgan, a versatile, 6-foot-7 forward from Canton, Ohio. Morgan is listed as the eighth best small forward and 28th best overall prospect in the nation by the recruiting service www.scout.com. "He's just a good, well-rounded player," said Chris Monter, Midwest region recruiting analyst for www.collegebasketballnews.com. "He does a lot of things around the hoop and he has a good mid-range game." Morgan had narrowed his options to MSU, Michigan and Ohio State.
Steve Smith, a former All-American for MSU, announced his retirement from the NBA on Friday at the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center.
I look down the bench and to my right sit Delco Rowley, Idong Ibok, Marquise Gray and Mo Ager. In front of us, Coach Izzo is spewing a fiery pep talk about being the best in the land. I must have stumbled into some parallel universe where has-been high school letter-winners get to live out their unfulfilled sports fantasies. I take a second glance at my teammates and realize I'm a good three to six inches shorter than most of these guys.
There's still almost a month until the MSU men's basketball team can officially practice for the first time, but for its student section, the season begins this weekend. Returning ticket-holders and lower-bowl hopefuls will stake out Munn Field on Saturday night for the Izzone Campout and a chance to secure their seats and spend some time with each other. "It's kind of like when you bring your family together for a family reunion," senior Associate Athletics Director Mark Hollis said. "It's a bonding situation." Students who were in the lower bowl last year are guaranteed lower-bowl seats again if they complete the campout.
MSU has agreed to play a pair of neutral-site men's basketball games with Texas Tech, including one at Ford Field, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports. The Spartans will play in Dallas on Dec.
Isaiah Dahlman, a 6-foot-6 swingman from Braham, Minn. has verbally agreed to play basketball with MSU starting next season. Dahlman, a senior in high school, averaged 28 points, six rebounds and five assists last season and led his team to a 33-0 record and the Minnesota Class 2A title. He is the first commitment MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo has secured from the class of 2006. "He's definitely a top 100 player," said Chris Monter, midwest recruiting analyst for the recruiting service Collegebasketballnews.com.
MSU junior guard Shannon Brown did not make the cut for the 12-man roster for the Men's USA Basketball under-21 team. Brown, Oklahoma St.
Former MSU forward Alan Anderson will report to the Charlotte Bobcats this week as an undrafted free agent, Anderson's agent Henry Thomas confirmed. Anderson was projected to be selected in the NBA Draft last week, as high as the 26th pick to the Detroit Pistons, but was still waiting after 60 selections. Anderson played four years at MSU, finishing his career with 1,195 points - tying him for 22nd on MSU's all-time scoring list with fellow 2005 senior Kelvin Torbert.
The 2005 Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule has been announced, and the MSU basketball team will host Georgia Tech at 7 p.m.
I was watching the San Antonio versus Phoenix game the other night and started laughing to myself - in reference to the Suns' performance, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. While Quentin Richardson is jogging back on defense, tapping his fists at the corners of his forehead, Manu Ginobili is flying past him for a layup.