Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
Spartans Make Final Preparations for Davidson on Open Practice Day
3/17/2022 5:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Greenville, S.C. – Michigan State's men's basketball team arrived in South Carolina on Wednesday night and spent the day on Thursday going through practice and media sessions in advance of its NCAA Tournament Second Round game on Friday night at Bon Secours Arena.
The Spartans, seeded No. 7 in the West Region, will play No. 10 seed Davidson on Friday, March 18 (CBS, 9:40 p.m.).
After a morning breakfast and film session at its hotel, the team hopped on a bus and practiced at nearby Bob Jones University.
The team then drove over to the arena in downtown Greenville – the largest county in the state of South Carolina, with more than 650 manufacturers and 40 Fortune 500 companies – to take part in media sessions for Head Coach Tom Izzo, as well as seniors Gabe Brown and Marcus Bingham Jr., junior Malik Hall and sophomore A.J.Hoggard.
"I think I talked to them a lot this week about one-and-done time, what it means, because they've grown up in the AAU culture where if you lose at 3, you play at 6, if you lose at 6, you play at 7, so who cares?," Head Coach Tom Izzo said.. "All of a sudden, you lose at 9:20 and you don't play again, some of them, for the rest of their lives.
"Trying to explain that to them where they embrace it and don't fear it, because if they fear it, it's a problem, but if they don't embrace it, it's a problem too. So I think that's where my experience and my staff's experience has helped. I think, when I show them the different ways I've moved on in this tournament, our team has our program has, they at least can see it. It's no it could happen. No, this is what happened. We did this.
"Just like when I have a team that's a 1 or 2 seed, I say we've done this too and not moved on. So experience always helps."
Bingham and Brown, who were members of the 2019 Final Four team, were asked about what they have told their younger teammates about playing in the NCAA Tournament.
"I just tell them just play their game," Brown said. "At the end of the day, it's just basketball. They played against millions of people before, so it's the same thing. It's a lot more pressure, and it's one-and-done time, so there can't be that many mistakes. Just tell them to play their game, be confident, play within themselves, and let's get the job done."
"Just really telling them to stay ready, stay in the moment, and not get too out of place," Bingham added. "Really just stay ready and stay in the moment really."
Following the media session, the Spartans held a 40-minute open practice on the arena floor.
The Spartans are the No. 7 seed in the West Region and will open against No. 10 Davidson on Friday, March 18 (9:40 p.m.), with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson calling all of the action. The TCF Bank Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard on one of 38 affiliates and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst. The game can also be heard on Sirius 85, XM 195 and channel 957 on the SiriusXM app.
The Spartans, seeded No. 7 in the West Region, will play No. 10 seed Davidson on Friday, March 18 (CBS, 9:40 p.m.).
After a morning breakfast and film session at its hotel, the team hopped on a bus and practiced at nearby Bob Jones University.
The team then drove over to the arena in downtown Greenville – the largest county in the state of South Carolina, with more than 650 manufacturers and 40 Fortune 500 companies – to take part in media sessions for Head Coach Tom Izzo, as well as seniors Gabe Brown and Marcus Bingham Jr., junior Malik Hall and sophomore A.J.Hoggard.
"I think I talked to them a lot this week about one-and-done time, what it means, because they've grown up in the AAU culture where if you lose at 3, you play at 6, if you lose at 6, you play at 7, so who cares?," Head Coach Tom Izzo said.. "All of a sudden, you lose at 9:20 and you don't play again, some of them, for the rest of their lives.
"Trying to explain that to them where they embrace it and don't fear it, because if they fear it, it's a problem, but if they don't embrace it, it's a problem too. So I think that's where my experience and my staff's experience has helped. I think, when I show them the different ways I've moved on in this tournament, our team has our program has, they at least can see it. It's no it could happen. No, this is what happened. We did this.
"Just like when I have a team that's a 1 or 2 seed, I say we've done this too and not moved on. So experience always helps."
Bingham and Brown, who were members of the 2019 Final Four team, were asked about what they have told their younger teammates about playing in the NCAA Tournament.
"I just tell them just play their game," Brown said. "At the end of the day, it's just basketball. They played against millions of people before, so it's the same thing. It's a lot more pressure, and it's one-and-done time, so there can't be that many mistakes. Just tell them to play their game, be confident, play within themselves, and let's get the job done."
"Just really telling them to stay ready, stay in the moment, and not get too out of place," Bingham added. "Really just stay ready and stay in the moment really."
Following the media session, the Spartans held a 40-minute open practice on the arena floor.
The Spartans are the No. 7 seed in the West Region and will open against No. 10 Davidson on Friday, March 18 (9:40 p.m.), with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson calling all of the action. The TCF Bank Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard on one of 38 affiliates and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play and Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst. The game can also be heard on Sirius 85, XM 195 and channel 957 on the SiriusXM app.
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