Michigan State University Athletics
Grinz On Green: Nix And Payne Provide Dynamic Duo
3/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 15, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio -
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com On-line Columnist
Individually, Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne are a handful for opposing teams to handle for entirely different reasons.
Collectively, what the center tandem provides Michigan State is worthy of a nickname, but what would you suggest, AP?
"I never really thought about that," said Payne. "If you all want to, you can give us one."
OK.
Twin Towers? Been taken. Suburban Acres? Too peaceful. Bruise Brothers? There's certainly a basketball connotation but it works better in hockey. Derrick Nix's House of Payne? It has potential.
But how about, "Dwight and Howard."?
When asked how he would describe the collaborative effort of Nix and Payne, Spartans All-American forward Draymond Green brought up the Orlando Magic's beastly superstar center without a second thought.
"Dwight Howard," Green said. "A big bruiser, athletic, can move - Dwight Howard. You put them two together, you'd probably have the best player in the country. But they have been great for us, and they complement each other so well because (opponents) are preparing for two completely different things.
"You're playing against a big bruiser, and then you're playing against this fast athletic guy. It's hard to keep adjusting on the fly like that. And the way coach (Tom Izzo) rotates them helps us a lot."
Nix and Payne haven't garnered any All-America honors going into Friday night's first-round NCAA Tournament game against LIU Brooklyn, but they've been playing like an All-America by committee in the postseason.
Together, they averaged 18.7 points and 8.7 rebounds in three Big Ten Tournament games. And in a heads-to-head battle with a real All-American center in the BTT championship game, they outplayed Ohio State's Jared Sullinger.
Nix-Payne scored 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the floor, pulled down seven rebounds, blocked five shots and had three assists in 40 minutes. Sullinger made just 7 of 19 shots for 18 points, had nine rebounds, one block and no assists in 29 minutes.
For the season, Nix-Payne is averaging 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game compared to Sullinger with 17.6 and 9.8. North Carolina's Tyler Zeller, a second-team All-American, is averaging 16.5 and 9.3 going into the tournament.
"Both of those guys bring something a little different to the table," said assistant coach Dwayne Stephens, who's in charge of MSU's bigs. "Nix is a big bruiser. He can put his body on you. He's not very athletic, but has a knack for scoring around the basket.
"AP can run up and down the court and make some athletic plays, and block shots and do some different things. For us, the Ohio State game showed you what we can do defensively. We felt like Payne guarded Sullinger a little better, and on the offensive end we felt like Derrick gave us the best opportunity to score and make something happen down there, so we kind of played them offense-defense the last three minutes."
The Spartans' combo down low gives them a dimension teams with one primary center don't have.
"I'd imagine that it's tough (for opponents) because you've got a guy leaning on you and pushing you around," Stephens said. "Then he goes out of the game, but you've been playing pretty physical and now you've got to worry about moving your feet because we're bringing a quicker, more athletic guy in."
"I think it's hard for other people to guard us because they have a lot of scouting to do," Payne said.
Each has attributes the other wouldn't mind having.
"Nix would be much quicker and faster, and I'd be much stronger and more vocal, and would be able to finish around the basket much easier because I'd have better hands," Payne said.
Michigan State alternated Nix and Payne throughout the Ohio State game in an effort to wear Sullinger down. They can expect the same treatment from LIU, and other teams in the West Regional that favor an up-tempo style of play, but the Spartans relish the opportunity to get out and run.
"They can play three minutes or four minutes and go hard without having to worry about saving themselves," Stephens said. "The next guy comes in and he's fresh and gets his turn. I think that's the luxury of having two guys."
At Thursday's pre-tournament press conference, Izzo said the catalyst for MSU's outstanding chemistry this season was the way Nix followed through on an offseason commitment to lose weight. At 270, he is nimbler and able to stay on the court longer.
Payne has always had an issue with lung capacity, but said his conditioning has improved significantly since earlier in the season. They've been pushed to the limit in practice by out-going senior center Anthony Ianni and redshirt freshman Alex Gauna, who is waiting in the wings while working to become more proficient on defense.
"Me and Adreian have just gotten better as time has gone on," said Nix. "He's helped me out a lot and I've helped him out a lot, and you can see it on the court. Hopefully, we'll get to the point where we can play in the game together, but for now, our job is when he comes out, I pick it up and when he goes out, I pick it up.
"We've both got pretty good all-around games. He's lanky and I'm wide. He can do some things down on the block offensively and defensively and so can I. Individually, we might not be considered All-Americans or high draft picks, but who cares? We're just helping our team win."
From LIU coach Jim Ferry's standpoint, the Nix-Payne duo is at the center of MSU's daunting complexity.
"The whole scouting report for this whole team is difficult because they can beat you in a lot of different ways," Ferry said. "They play with great speed and conversion. They have exceptional 3-point shooting. They have a versatile 4-man (Green) that does everything possible as a basketball player.
"They have big-time bodies up front that can beat you and bang you in different ways. That's the reason they're a No. 1 seed. The reason they're a top-five program in the country is extremely talented basketball players, they really play unselfishly and they're a difficult matchup for a lot of teams."
