Spartans Already Looking Forward to Next Season
4/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist
INDIANAPOLIS - As Michigan State guard Denzel Valentine walked off the court for the last time this season with 1:12 remaining in Saturday night's national semifinal against Duke, he stopped to share a word with Coach Tom Izzo.
"I just looked at him and I said, `I'm going to get you here next year, coach," Valentine said.
What Valentine meant by "here" would be the Final Four, which is where the 2015 season ended with an 81-61 loss to Duke in a national semifinal Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Spartans' error-filled and foul-plagued effort caused them to fall one win short of reaching the national championship game for the first time since 2009. They were just two victories away from capturing their third NCAA title in school history and first since 2000, and Valentine is already ratcheting up the motivation to get back.
"We just didn't execute the game plan," said Valentine, who scored a game-high 22 points. "It's going to be tough for this next 24 hours because every time I'm thinking about how good a year we had, I'm going to think of all the hard work we put in and how we were actually so close.
"We were up in the first half by eight, and if we could have just kept the lead." Because of his natural leadership skills and engaging personality, Valentine served as a co-captain this season as a junior. However, Valentine deferred to seniors Travis Trice, also a co-captain, and Branden Dawson when it came to the team's identity.
Valentine wasted no time in completing the transfer of power, which he assumes will be shared to a certain extent with freshman guard Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. He also made it clear that this will be his team in 2015-16.
 | "We had some young guys that learned. We got a lot coming back, we've got some guys sitting, we've got some guys coming in. They all made sure we said let's remember what it's like to be here." |
"Yeah, me and Tum will be the captains and we'll be great leaders next year, and we'll have the experience," said Valentine. "Yeah, (Nairn) will be a captain. He's a leader, and he's just a freshman."
Former Spartans Mateen Cleaves and Draymond Green, two of the greatest captains of the Izzo era, have already endorsed Nairn's candidacy.
Nairn asked Izzo to be the first to address the team after the difficult loss that left him in tears, "which is pretty interesting," Izzo said. "Tum was just..., I told you Draymond told me he'll be my best leader and maybe he's right. The way he spoke to Travis and the seniors, it was really cool. It was from the very, very depth of his heart, and that means this program is in good shape.
"I think it's going to be Denzel's team, but I think Tum Tum is going to be Robin to his Batman. What is it about (Nairn)? He's infectious. Every day's a good day. That's what he starts every practice with - it's a good day. I have to learn from him because all my days aren't good days."
Trice said Nairn is as hard a worker as he's seen, but Nairn is already planning to out-do himself over the next year.
"I take out of this loss a lot of pain and a lot of motivation to come back next year and finish," he said. "I didn't want this year to come to an end the way it did. Unfortunately, it happened the way it happened, but we had a helluva run. Nobody thought we'd make it to the Final Four and we did that. We'll be back next year."
Nairn is ready to embrace a leadership role if it comes to him.
"I'm going to take a couple weeks off and then it's back to the film room to see how I can become a better player," he said. "I will be better next year in every aspect of the game and I know we will be better as a team. We're going to work harder and if I become captain, I'm going to grind harder every single day and make sure my teammates grind harder and I'm going to hold everybody accountable.
"I'm going to do whatever it takes to get a national championship."
The Spartans lose Trice and Dawson, but in addition to Valentine and Nairn, will return big men Matt Costello, who for the last month played on a knee that Izzo said will probably require surgery, and Gavin Schilling. Junior shooting guard Bryn Forbes, a transfer from Cleveland State, will spend the offseason getting stronger and freshman guard Javon Bess, who missed most of the season with a foot injury, could become the impact player he was expected to be this season.
Marvin Clark Jr., who was rough around the edges while contributing as a true freshman, will be more polished, as will sophomore guard Alvin Ellis III. Valentine called Eron Harris, a junior guard who had to sit out a year after transferring from West Virginia, the toughest player he defended, in practice, all season.
Michigan State will also welcome Deyonta Davis, the 6-foot-10 Michigan Mr. Basketball Award winner from Muskegon High, along with 6-5 guard Kyle Ahrens, of Versailles (Ohio) and Matt McQuaid, a 6-5, sharp-shooting guard from Duncanville (Texas).
"We had some young guys that learned," Izzo said. "We got a lot coming back, we've got some guys sitting, we've got some guys coming in. They all made sure we said let's remember what it's like to be here.
"I don't know when, but we're going to get back here."
Valentine is counting on it.
"Because of the talent we have coming in next year, and all the experience we have," he said. "Everybody should be well-prepared. I'm going to remember all the ups and downs. We lost to Texas Southern at home, which is probably Coach Izzo's worst loss, and then we come back a couple of months later and we're in the Final Four.
"We want to put ourselves in another bracket by winning the national championship so next year, we're going to be on a mission."
And, he already knows where the road to the Final Four will end.
"Houston," he said without hesitation.
