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Sports | Basketball

BASKETBALL

MSU supports Ohio State in suit against former coach

Laura Collins
December 6, 2006

MSU was part of an 18-university group that filed a brief last week supporting Ohio State in its bid to overturn a $2.4 million award to former men's basketball coach Jim O'Brien. O'Brien was fired in 2004 after he admitted giving $6,000 to the mother of a 7-foot-3 Serbian recruit, Aleksander Radojevic. The Ohio Court of Claims ruled earlier this year that although O'Brien committed NCAA violations, the university improperly fired him by not following the terms of his contract. All 10 Big Ten schools other than Ohio State signed the brief, as did the Big Ten, Pacific-10 and Big 12 conferences.

BASKETBALL

Hoops preview

TONIGHT'S HOOPS GAME What: MSU men's basketball (7-2) vs. IPFW (3-5) Where: Breslin Center When: 7 p.m. NOTES: • MSU leads the Big Ten with a plus-11.4 rebounding margin.

BASKETBALL

Izzo still concerned about crowd

Ethan Conley
December 5, 2006

Tom Izzo wants more from you. The MSU head coach is looking for better crowd support. He said before the season he was worried that fans have become numb to success because of the team's recent history of Final Four appearances, and his concerns haven't been helped by sparse crowds at MSU's first few home games. "I hope we're not getting fat and sassy," Izzo said. MSU has reported a sellout in each of its seven home games thus far, but plenty of empty seats have been visible in both the Izzone and the regular-seating sections.

BASKETBALL

Morgan has stress fracture, may miss up to 3 weeks

Ethan Conley
December 5, 2006

MSU's most promising and versatile young player has been sidelined by an injury that has plagued the program for years — a stress fracture. Head coach Tom Izzo said Monday that freshman forward Raymar Morgan will miss Wednesday's game against IPFW with a stress fracture in his right shin.

BASKETBALL

Spartans bounce back with win

Ethan Conley
December 4, 2006

Tom Izzo wasn't particularly happy with any of his players following MSU's loss to Boston College on Wednesday, and sophomore forward Marquise Gray was responsible for a large part of the coach's ire.

BASKETBALL

Trannon out, others step up

Joey Nowak
December 4, 2006

Bradley's four-guard lineup Sunday normally would have meant extended minutes for senior forward Matt Trannon, whose versatility has helped neutralize smaller post players in the past. But Trannon didn't play a single minute Sunday and won't for the rest of the season — head coach Tom Izzo announced Friday that Trannon won't return to the basketball team and instead will prepare for the NFL Draft. Trannon averaged 4.6 points and 4.3 rebounds a game last season and was one of MSU's best defenders.

BASKETBALL

As the turkey digests, let's reflect on MSU hoops

Ethan Conley
November 27, 2006

1. Junior guard Drew Neitzel has embraced his role as the team's go-to scorer. Neitzel averaged 33 points per game as a senior at Wyoming Park High School but was more of a distributor during his first two years at MSU, deferring to Paul Davis, Maurice Ager and Shannon Brown.

BASKETBALL

MSU's primary color

Ethan Conley
November 27, 2006

Marquise Gray's college basketball career has been a roller-coaster ride. In three up-and-down seasons, the sophomore forward has battled several injuries and has struggled to live up to the hype that came with being an elite recruit. Gray's performance against Oakland (4-3) on Saturday was one of the "up" days.

BASKETBALL

New York, new hope

New York — If you had asked most pundits a month ago what the greatest strength of this year's MSU men's basketball team would be, most of their answers would have sounded something like this: "It'll help pass the time until next year's Top 5 recruiting class gets here." Well, after upsetting No.

BASKETBALL

Morgan's job: Contain Durant

Ethan Conley
November 14, 2006

The biggest factor in determining whether Thursday night will be a triumph for the Green and White or the Burnt Orange might be a matchup between two 18-year-olds. MSU (3-0) faces No.

BASKETBALL

Not just Neitzel: Offense spreading wealth

Matt Bishop
November 13, 2006

A balanced scoring attack is what MSU didn't have last season, as three players combined for almost 80 percent of the Spartans' offense. But a balanced attack is what the MSU men's basketball team got Sunday evening at Breslin Center, as eight players recorded at least six points each to lead the Spartans to a 73-41 win against The Citadel. Pacing the attack was junior guard Drew Neitzel with 17 points, followed by freshmen Raymar Morgan and Isaiah Dahlman with 10 each. Both Morgan and Dahlman were effective from outside, each going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. "I think he had his best game," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said of Dahlman, who turned 19 on Sunday.

BASKETBALL

Izzo introduces highly touted recruits

Steve Highfield
November 9, 2006

About eight hours before his team kicked off its 2006-07 season, head coach Tom Izzo was busy introducing one of the most touted recruiting classes of his tenure. Guards Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers and Chris Allen, who signed letters of intent Wednesday, make up a three-guard class that's ranked No.

BASKETBALL

Top priority in tonight's opener: Cut turnovers

Ethan Conley
November 8, 2006

Ever wonder where all of Roy Williams' and Jim Boeheim's hair has gone over the years? Maybe it's a pesky gene that caused the tops of their heads to become bare as their coaching victories piled up. Or maybe they've just spent too many years pulling their hair out because of turnovers. And if that's the case, Tom Izzo's hairline might not be far behind. The Spartans committed 38 combined turnovers in their first two exhibition games, including 21 against Northern Michigan on Nov.

BASKETBALL

Morgan shoulders scoring output

Matt Bishop
November 6, 2006

Freshman forward Raymar Morgan sure knows how to make a great first impression. In his first collegiate game, Morgan wowed the crowd Sunday at Breslin Center with his athleticism and well-rounded play, scoring 16 points and adding 12 rebounds in 30 minutes to lead the Spartans to a 74-63 win against Northern Michigan. "I was excited, probably a little too excited at times," Morgan said.

BASKETBALL

Izzo: 'A lot of work ahead'

Matt Bishop
November 6, 2006

With the regular-season opener right around the corner, MSU head coach Tom Izzo hoped to find some answers to the many questions surrounding his team during Sunday's final exhibition game against Northern Michigan. Will the freshman class be able to contribute?

BASKETBALL

Joseph, Suton in line for larger roles

Matt Bishop
November 1, 2006

For the MSU men's basketball team to succeed this year, two players who dwelled in the shadows last season are going to be forced to step in and make an impact. Those two — sophomores Maurice Joseph and Goran Suton — will be counted on to not only provide depth and quality minutes, but also provide a scoring punch, head coach Tom Izzo said. Suton was a regular part of the revolving door at power forward last season, but struggled to string together consistent performances.