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Sports | Basketball

BASKETBALL

Offense, freshmen impressing

Matt Bishop
October 28, 2005

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.

BASKETBALL

Izzo's 2006 recruit class grows by 7 feet

Chris Barsotti
October 25, 2005

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.

BASKETBALL

Recruit earns praise despite size

Tom Keller
October 4, 2005

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.

BASKETBALL

Fans get a feeling for Izzone basketball

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.

BASKETBALL

Izzone campout will take place this weekend at Munn

Tom Keller
September 23, 2005

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.

BASKETBALL

Ford Field to host Spartans again

Tom Keller
September 9, 2005

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.

BASKETBALL

Izzo nabs 1st recruit for '06

Tom Keller
September 8, 2005

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.

BASKETBALL

MSU to host NCAA 2007 opening rounds

Megan Homanick
July 7, 2005

The NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Committee has selected MSU and the Breslin Center to host first- and second-round games for the 2007 NCAA Women's Basketball Championships. "We're exited as a department to host the first and second rounds," MSU Director of Athletics Ron Mason said in a written statement.

BASKETBALL

Agent says undrafted Anderson will report to Charlotte Bobcats

Megan Homanick
July 5, 2005

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.

BASKETBALL

Brown to try out for national b-ball team

Alex Abate
June 21, 2005

MSU men's basketball junior guard Shannon Brown accepted an invitation to attend the Under 21 National Team Trials in Dallas on July 21-23. The trials are used to choose the members of the 12-player team that will defend the gold medal for the United States in the 2005 FIBA U21 World Championship in Mar de Plata, Argentina in August. During his sophomore season, Brown averaged 10.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

BASKETBALL

Heat extinguished

Jason Worthy
May 24, 2005

As the defending world champion Pistons competed Monday night in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, local bars and restaurants also competed to draw the largest crowds. With most MSU students gone for the summer, bars and restaurants are experiencing less business, so they've turned to things such as high-definition TVs to lure people into their establishments, said Aaron Weiner, the general manager of Buffalo Wild Wings, 360 Albert Ave. Retired East Lansing resident Allan Harwitz said he heads to Buffalo Wild Wings on game nights because of the big screens. "I am here every time the Pistons play because the TVs here are huge," he said, while waiting for the game to begin.

BASKETBALL

Spurs, Pistons will be in finals thanks to lack of defense from Suns, Heat

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.

BASKETBALL

Seniors pass on knowledge

Brian Charlton
April 8, 2005

When Chris Hill, Alan Anderson and Kelvin Torbert joined the Spartans as freshmen, the team lacked a solid senior class to show them the ropes. Now that the senior trio is leaving, Anderson said he made sure to leave behind their knowledge and experience. "We never had that," Anderson said.