Sports: High Expectations for 1997-1998 Season

With many young but experienced cagers, coach Tom Izzo expects a big step forward in achievement this year. 'Our expectations are high, make no mistake about it,' says third year head coach Tom Izzo. 'Our goals are to compete in this league for the championship, to improve each and every day--which at times we've done--to gain a lot more experience, and to make the NCAA. I think we're capable of doing it.'

Izzo's statement sounds bold by comparison to the experts, the majority of them picking MSU to finish fourth in the Big Ten. Two exceptions were Street & Smith (5th) and The Sporting News (4th). 'Those rankings don't bother me because I look at who's ahead of us and they're some pretty good teams,' says Izzo. 'The league will be excellent. There are eight teams that will have four or more starters back, in one way or another. Purdue is the pre-season favorite. They have five starters back. After that, who knows? We're expecting to be good, and we're demanding to be good.'

That would be helpful, considering MSU will appear on national television ESPN three times (South Florida, Dec. 20; Wisconsin, Jan. 8; and Michigan, Feb. 17), and another five or six times on regional TV. What has Izzo anticipating a good year is the overall athleticism of this year's squad, one he says 'is the most athletic and the quickest in my 15 years here.'

In addition, Izzo cites as strengths the improved strength of the players overall, the experience, the improved health of point guard Mateen Cleaves, the good camaderie of the players, and the leadership of the co-captains, Antonio Smith and Mateen Cleaves. Junior power forward Smith, who led the Big Ten in rebounding last year, is the third-best returning rebounder in the country, while sophomore point guard Cleaves, who was ranked the No. 2 point guard in the country in his class, returns in great health and about 20 pounds lighter than last year. 'Antonio provides leadership with his beat-you-up power,' says Izzo, 'While Mateen does it vocally. We named them co-captains early and those guys have really taken it to heart.'

MSU's weaknesses are 'shooting, and experience up front,' says Izzo. The stunning 'Hoops On Fire' poster of this year's squad suggests a very uptempo type of bunch, and a positional analysis shows that MSU has the horses for a running style.

Complimenting Mateen at guard will likely be a newcomer, after a stress fracture suffered by senior Thomas Kelley, who was projected to start at the two-guard. TK had played with Cleaves all summer, ramped up his bench press to 300 pounds, and dramatically improved his shooting. His injury, expected to last at least eight weeks, keeps MSU from fielding perhaps the Big Ten's quickest backcourt.

Three newcomers--the highly-recruited Charles Bell, Doug Davis, and football player Lorenzo Guess--will vie for the post. Swingman David Thomas, at 6-7 with a tremendous wingspan, is versatile enough to play either guard position or small forward. Smith will be expected to dominate the power forward position again. At small forward are Thomas, who gained valuable experience with Dujuan Wiley as members of the Big Ten squad that toured Europe, sophomore Morris Peterson, an explosive scorer, and junior Jason Klein, who's capable of hot outside shooting. The big question mark lies at center. Wiley comes back stronger and 25 pounds heavier, yet still looks thin by Big Ten standards. Sophomore A. J. Granger battled health problems (stress fracture and mononucleosis) all summer. Look for freshman Andre Hutson, a tremendous student-athlete from Trotwood, OH, to emerge as a frontline player. 'In the past, we've had success when our best players are also our hardest working players,' observes Izzo. 'That's the case this year with Antonio, Mateen and TK (Kelley).'

Returning as assistant coaches are Tom Crean, Stan Heath and Mike Garland.