Sports: Spartan Hoops
Despite massive losses from last year’s Final Four team and a killer schedule, Tom Izzo intends to compete for another championship.
The program that Tom Izzo built is on a roll—a national championship, three straight Final Fours, four straight Big Ten championships, and two NBA first-rounders in each of the past two years. No team in America—not even Duke—can match this record.
Can Izzo maintain his winning pace in 2001-02?
Most experts are skeptical, considering the program lost seven players from last year’s team—five to graduation (Charlie Bell, Mike Chappell, Andre Hutson, Brandon Smith and David Thomas), and two McDonald All-Americans, Jason Richardson and Zach Randolph, to the NBA. Those who left had accounted for 81 percent of the points and 76 percent of the assists. Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News, bemoaning the Spartans’ lack of depth, scoring and experience, ranks MSU only 14th nationally.
But MSU does have a few things going for it. For one, Izzo is back with his work ethic, tenacity and proven blueprint for winning. He also has assistants familiar with his system—associate head coach Brian Gregory and Mike Garland return, along with newcomer Mark Montgomery, the first former Spartan starter to be named basketball assistant coach. They move to new offices in the $7.5 million Berkowitz Basketball Complex.
“We’re still looking to have championships,” says the seventh-year coach, who boasts the highest NCAA winning percentage among active coaches today. “We have a blueprint of what it takes. We know the correct way to get to the final outcome, which for our players means hopefully to win championships, hopefully to graduate, and then hopefully to move on to the NBA—in that order.”
MSU’s leading returning scorer is junior forward Al Anagonye, who boasts 29 starts but only 255 points. Point guard Marcus Taylor, the second most experienced player, is only a sophomore. Taylor will run the team and must also shoulder a huge load in scoring.
That means Izzo must rely on bench players from last year, along with a trio of freshmen, to step up bigtime. Center Jason Andreas and forwards Adam Ballinger and Adam Wolfe must rise to the occasion and up their productivity. Freshmen shooting guard and Mr. Basketball Kelvin Torbert, MSU’s latest Flintstone, and swing forward Alan Anderson have to play major roles on offense and defense and live up to their lofty reputations. Chris Hill, a sharpshooter from Indianapolis, does not have the luxury of a projected future. Walk-on guard Tim Bograkos, also from Flint, could contribute some valuable minutes.
Compounding Izzo’s woes is a schedule loaded with Top 20 type teams, although Izzo “spins” it as a good thing.
“This is potentially the best schedule we’ve had,” says Izzo, noting the preseason NIT tournament with a possible match-up against Syracuse (and possibly either Fresno State or Arkansas) in New York City and pre-conference home games vs. Arizona and Seton Hall. “We have road trips to Stanford, Virginia and Florida. That alone is a great schedule. Also, the league is very strong, and we have the toughest possible schedule in the league.
“We’ll have some bumps in the road early. But our job is to get ready for the Big Ten and to be playing our best later in the season. So you’ll hear me complaining about it early on, but that (schedule) should help us.”
One given in this year’s team will be ferocious rebounding and defense, the hallmarks of Izzo’s blueprint. MSU led the nation for two straight years in rebounding margin intends to continue crashing the boards. Fans should expect more floor burns this season, and hopefully, a fifth league title.
FUTURE HOOPSTERS
MSU signed three players in November for next fall—Maurice Ager (G, 6-4, 175, Detroit/Crockett High School), Paul Davis (F, 6-10, 235, Rochester, Mich./ Rochester High School) and Delco Rowley (F, 6-8, 235, Indianapolis/Arlington High School). Says Izzo, “(This class) fills several of our needs." After the early signings in November, David Benezra and Mark Mayemura of ESPN.com ranked MSU’s class No. 2 in the nation behind only Duke.