Grinz On Green: Spartans Take Momentum Into Big Ten
12/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online columnist
The lineup is smaller than Michigan State fans are accustomed to. The dominating rebounding performances of the past probably won't be duplicated very often by this group of Spartans. Scott Skiles isn't coming back to make MSU one of the nation's best foul-shooting teams.
But as the Spartans pivot from a scrappy 77-65 victory over Oakland in Wednesday night's non-conference finale to Big Ten competition, one thing remains unchanged from where the previous 19 or so MSU teams were at this point despite a plague of injuries that may have crippled another program, an incredibly difficult schedule and a brutally unforgiving travel plan.
"You know what, I don't feel like I don't have a contender's mindset," 22nd-year head coach Tom Izzo said the day before playing the Golden Grizzlies. "We can do some different things, so I may be frustrated but I'm not as panicky.
"We have gotten enough guys some chances."
And in this season of giving, enough of those guys gave back just in the nick of time. Everything that seemed to be missing in Sunday's lethargic eight-point home loss to Northeastern was back in the most familiar ways on the Breslin Center court against Oakland.
There was wire-to-wire toughness and energy that minimized the fact that standout freshman and leading scorer Miles Bridges was missing his fifth-straight game with a foot injury. The other three members of Izzo's most-talented-ever freshman class â€" point guard Cassius Winston, power forward Nick Ward and wing Joshua Langford â€" made their first careers starts in unison while veterans Tum Tum Nairn and Eron Harris came off the bench.
And, it was OK.
Ward had his best scoring performance as a Spartan with 25 points to go with nine rebounds. Winston combined his nine points and eight assists with stellar defense in the second half and Langford pitched in five points but can play so much better, according to Izzo. Meantime, Harris seemed to play freer while making 4 of 8 shots for 15 points and Nairn put team before self as the most effective leaders always do.
Then there was 6-foot-5 senior Matt Van Dyk, getting his fingernails beyond dirty, the way Izzo's best unsung role players did before him, by playing out of position (out of necessity) and grabbing five of his seven rebounds off the offensive boards. Kenny Goins went about his business in a quietly effective way with eight boards and three points and senior guard Alvin Ellis III made timely baskets en route to eight points.
"What I'm most pleased about is we played the hardest we've played in a while and that's encouraging," Izzo said. "All-in-all it was a good comeback win for us after a disappointing loss. I was upset --didn't like the guys played (in previous games) and challenged them.
"One thing they're starting to learn, and they don't like is, is getting up off the mat and being challenged and responding, and that is critical especially for a young team."
Especially against conference foes champing at the bit to get a measure of revenge against a team that has inflicted so much misery against them over the past two decades and now appears to be vulnerable.
"We have so many guys that are trying to find themselves and some guys found themselves tonight," Izzo said. "That's not real exciting for me when you only out-rebound somebody by a few (37-34), but we did do a better job in some areas.
"Everybody knows we're not as talented right now and we're working on it, but we took a step in the right direction and we'll move from there."
For Nairn, it was a 180-degree turn from the debacle against Northeastern.
"To be honest, I feel really good about going into the Big Ten now," he said. "This was a must-win game for us and I felt like a lot of guys got better today. Cash did a great job running the team, Nick did extremely well, MVD (Van Dyk) played great and Kenny gave us big minutes.
"The thing is, we've been wanting to play consistent basketball and the goal is always to get 40 minutes of playing Spartan basketball. But we would play like 30 minutes of it some games and 25 in others. We just weren't playing the way we needed to to win big games. I think we're heading down the right path for moving towards consistency in every game.
"Oakland is a tough team and we had to compete really hard to beat them. I felt like we did that."
The 8-5 Spartans still have areas that could prove to be problematic, regardless of how hard and tough they play, if they aren't improved. Michigan State made just 64.9 percent (24 of 37) of its free throws, with Ward going a hopeful 11-for-17 from the line.
But Ward, who has dropped 30 pounds since arriving on campus, is fast becoming a fan favorite as he continues to improve his fitness level.
He ignited the holiday crowd, devoid of all but a few students, with a blocked shot that sailed into the stands with about seven-and-a-half minutes remaining. And when Winston laid out to dive for a loose ball Breslin was jumping.
"We had a mission to prove everybody wrong," said Ward. "They're calling us soft, saying we don't play hard. So, we played the opposite. We played hard and we played as a team. We felt like we had something to prove. It gives us a little momentum (heading into the Big Ten). We needed this win."
The Spartans also have newfound confidence they can hold down the fort, beginning with Tuesday's conference opener at Minnesota, until Bridges not only returns to the lineup but is back up to speed. Bridges has been getting an infusion of basketball knowledge to go with his sublime ability from his time being attached to Izzo's hip on the bench.
"When I was on the floor, a lot of guys just didn't get a chance, like MVD or Kyle (Ahrens)," Bridges said. "With me not being out there, they've been getting their confidence up and a better idea of how they have to play. I'm looking forward to seeing them play with that same confidence when I come back and that will make us a better team."
That concept received a major endorsement from Oakland coach Greg Kampe, who made a valiant effort to channel Mark Twain -- once quoted as saying, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" -- to size up MSU's situation.
"There's a lot of talented players over there," Kampe said. "Their demise, whatever that statement is…, for people to sit there and say that crap about them is ridiculous. This is a gold-standard basketball program in this country, coached by probably the best coach in the country.
"If you think they're going to fold in December, you guys are crazy. (Izzo) can coach and he has talented players. Does he have some guys missing? Yeah. Is a great player missing? Yeah. But all this is going to do is make those other guys better so when that kid gets back they'll be better. I guarantee you, they'll be there in March."
