Torbert Responds To Izzo's Challenge
1/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - If you didn't see Kelvin Torbert play before this season, it was understandable to question what all the fuss was about.
Torbert was named the national player of the year by both The Sporting News and Gatorade. He was Michigan State's highest-rated recruit since Earvin "Magic" Johnson became a Spartan in 1977.
However, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound guard looked like just another freshman struggling to find a niche during the first 16 games of the season. At times, he looked less comfortable than fellow freshman, Chris Hill and Alan Anderson.
Torbert was not dazzling fans with gravity-defying dunks, 25-foot 3-pointers or powerful mid-range and low-post moves, as he often did at Flint Northwestern High School and elite summer camps.
Many were asking, "What's wrong with Torbert?"
Torbert quieted his critics Wednesday night by scoring a career-high 18 points, on 7-of-13 shooting, with a 3-pointer, mid-range jumpers and layups as the Spartans beat Purdue 65-56.
"I think he really grew up," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "He took a giant step. He wanted the ball, he ran a little harder. When he got it, he looked more like the guy we recruited, jumping over people."
Torbert was pleased to have a "breakout game," after enduring more scrutiny than many freshmen face.
"It's been kind of hard," Torbert said. "But when a lot of people are expecting so much, you have to take it as constructive criticism because people have respect for your game."
Earlier this season, Izzo was dumbfounded with the way Torbert was playing.
Izzo couldn't rely much on what his assistants thought was wrong, since they hadn't seen him play a lot in high school because Izzo recruited Torbert essentially by himself.
After searching for solutions, Izzo chose to challenge Torbert - privately and publicly. The tactic worked and Torbert was not surprised or angry about it.
"I kind of felt like it was coming," he said, "because everybody has been saying I'm not living up to my abilities.
"He made me go out and feel like I had something to prove."
Torbert did, but he didn't have to make a believer out of Purdue coach Gene Keady.
"Everybody's always liked him, since he was an eighth grader," Keady said. "What's not to like about him?"
Torbert wasn't horrible by any means before Wednesday - averaging 9.1 points and 3.8 rebounds - he just wasn't living up to the expectations that come after some rate you higher than even Memphis freshman Dajuan Wagner.
Former Michigan State star Morris Peterson, who like Torbert, also was a Flint Northwestern standout, spoke with Torbert earlier this week to share some encouraging words.
"I just told him play like he plays against us every summer," said Peterson, a second-year pro with the Toronto Raptors. "But K.T. is being asked to do a lot.
"He's in a different situation than I was in or even Marcus Taylor and Zach Randolph were in last year. We were able to just blend in because we had veterans to help out. But K.T. has to start, play defense and score and he doesn't have a senior to lean on."
Torbert said he's learned from his early struggles.
"It's just been the mental aspect of the game," Torbert explained. "I've been trying to think too much, instead of just going out and playing, reacting and being aggressive."
Torbert watched countless games as a recruit, a few rows behind Michigan State's bench, but he still didn't know what he was in for this season.
"It's a bigger transition than you think," he said. "When you're just sitting there watching, you feel like, it's going to be easy."
By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports Writer