Izzo confident in Lucious at PG

Point guard is a position of leadership.

It’s unavoidable.

The point guard of a basketball team is the floor general and runs the offense on almost every possession.

With MSU head coach Tom Izzo calling junior guard and captain Kalin Lucas’ right ankle status “very, very questionable” for Saturday and no timetable for his return, there only is one other Spartan who has directed the starting offense this season — sophomore guard Korie Lucious.

Although the Spartans have few other options, Izzo said he is confident Lucious can control a team facing adversity for the first time in the Big Ten.

“Can he handle it? Sure he can,” Izzo said after Tuesday’s loss. “I thought Korie played maybe as well as any of our guys tonight, running our team, making some great passes early.”

Lucious finished with nine points and five assists Tuesday, but also had three turnovers.

He has averaged five points per game this season with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.35.

“I have a lot of confidence in myself. I know I can do it, as well as the coaching staff and my teammates,” Lucious said. “My confidence level is there, but at the same time I’m not going to try to do too much. I’m just going to try to come out and get the win, whatever it takes.”

Lucas didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday, and Izzo said Lucious split time at point guard with junior guards Chris Allen and Mike Kebler.

Sophomore forward Draymond Green said Lucious has had a little more energy in practice.

“You always see energy and excitement out of him, whether he’s starting or coming off the bench,” Green said. “Of course it’s going to raise with the opportunity at hand, but he’s just going to play like it’s any other big game for us.”

Illinois guard Demetri McCamey’s 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame could be a matchup problem for the Spartans, but Lucious said he’s ready for the challenge.

“He’s pretty strong, so if he gets a step on me, he can muscle me to the hoop,” he said. “As long as I stay squared on defense and not give him an angle I think I should be alright.”

Lucious said he has learned a lot from Lucas in the past year-and-a- half, and Lucas’ guidance will help him Saturday.

“In practice, going up against (Lucas), (I know) how strong he is and the ability that he has,” Lucious said. “He’s been helping me along the way, telling me how to see the defense and everything like that and just talking to me throughout the process since freshman year.”