Kebler proves he can hang with starters

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Days before the MSU men’s basketball team’s game against Illinois on Feb. 6, head coach Tom Izzo fielded questions about what he would do at point guard with junior guard Kalin Lucas injured.

First, junior guard Chris Allen and sophomore guard Korie Lucious were named as likely candidates to run the point.

Then, Izzo threw out a name that caught reporters by surprise: junior guard Mike Kebler.

The Okemos native’s success on the scout team was well-documented, but playing quality minutes against some of the conference’s best guards? It seemed a little far-fetched. Still, Izzo raved about Kebler’s athletic ability and defensive improvements.

Here we are, three games later, and I’m joining a following that believes Kebler should (and could) be playing more minutes.

Sure, we all hoped Kebler would be able to just hold his own, but he has registered three assists and zero turnovers in the past three games.

More important than his role in the offense has been his ability to lock down some of the conference’s premier players (albeit for only a few minutes). In five minutes against Illinois’ DeMetri McCamey, Kebler shut down the Big Ten’s assist leader, who was tearing up the Spartans.

Against Penn State, Kebler guarded the conference’s leading scorer, Talor Battle, and shut him down as MSU went on a 13-0 run that finally buried the Nittany Lions.

Kebler’s quick defensive maturation has been noted by Izzo, who replaced Lucas with Kebler late in the game against Purdue whenever the Spartans were on defense.

Kebler saw more playing time against Penn State because Lucious did not travel because of academic issues, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kebler continue to see quality minutes.

Lucious’ 5-foot-11 size has been a problem for him on the defensive end as opponents have been shooting 3-pointers in his face.

Kebler, at 6-foot-4, is a bigger guard, but he’s been able to stay step-for-step with opponents who try to utilize their speed — good lateral movement that likely comes from Kebler’s tennis background.

Kebler might be a scoring liability (Who knows? He’s only attempted eight field goals this season), but his defensive ability quickly is being noticed and could be a valuable asset for the Spartans down the stretch.

The only reason Kebler is on the basketball court at MSU is because he reached out to Spartans’ assistant coaches during his senior year at Okemos High School. They saw enough in Kebler to let him walk on to the scout team.

Now Kebler, who earned a scholarship this past summer, is being matched up with some of the Big Ten’s best shooters.

Former walk-on wide receiver Blair White made the most of his opportunity and became one of the school’s best receivers.

I’m not saying Kebler will become a Spartan great, but he’s another example of someone who was passed on by many, was given an opportunity in East Lansing and is making the most of it.

Chris Vannini is a State News men’s basketball reporter. He can be reached at vanninic@msu.edu.

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