Izzo ‘not afraid’ to play any team
Senior guard Austin Thornton releases a shot while Wisconsin guard Jordan Taylor tries to get his hand on the ball. The Spartans defeated the Badgers 69-55 on Thursday evening at Breslin Center.
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Three games ago, the MSU men’s basketball team surpassed last season’s win total — and still have at least six games to play.
Head coach Tom Izzo spent much of his weekly press conference Monday discussing this season’s 22-5 No. 6 Spartans compared to last year’s 19-15 team.
Last season’s team entered the season ranked No. 2 with national championship expectations, and instead, had an injury and distraction-filled season that led to disappointment.
“When I said last year that I thought everyone got fat and sassy, you can bet your butt I looked in the mirror at myself and said, ‘Maybe I didn’t appreciate things,’” Izzo said. “There were too many distractions — I questioned how hard to push guys. We went from a team that was a team to a team that was pieces.”
Entering this season with just two players who played more than 20 minutes a game last season, Izzo didn’t expect what he’s seen this year with his Spartans.
The biggest difference for Izzo is the chemistry: this year, all the pieces fit into the puzzle. Although he says he’s had more talented teams — with experience — this team has rare chemistry.
Combine the young talent that listens to one of the greatest leaders in MSU history — senior forward Draymond Green — with a great defensive team, and Izzo will take on anything.
“I don’t think we’re better than a lot of teams, but I’m not afraid of just about anybody,” Izzo said of this season’s tournament potential. “I would not be afraid to go again home or away against anybody, and we have ceiling to go.
“I don’t fear it, and I say that … knowing what this team has to give,” Izzo said.
Green’s honors
Green earned his second straight Big Ten Player of the Week award on Monday for averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in two games last week.
And although he’s putting up the same kind of numbers former National Players of the Year Tim Duncan and Evan Turner turned in, he brings a lot of traits people overlook.
“As far as his points, rebounds, assists, what he’s done, it kind of speaks to what I’m saying in he does so much for us,” Izzo said. “(But) some are unmeasurable, like an assist to an assist, dragging defenders. The leadership things are the ones he doesn’t get recognized for enough. He does an even better job than we give him credit for.”
Injuries
Freshman guard Travis Trice has missed the last two games, while senior guard Brandon Wood played limited minutes. This week, Wood gets the brace off his shoulder and looks to increase his minutes from the 22 he played at Purdue.
Trice, however, is still a question mark.
“We could really use him to relieve (sophomore guard Keith Appling) and score some,” Izzo said. “He helps us there.”
