Chris Allen's dismissal not a fatal blow

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Math be damned. There is such thing as addition by subtraction.

When MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo announced Tuesday that senior guard Chris Allen had been removed from the team for failure to “meet all the obligations,” he immediately removed a distraction from the locker room in order to increase his team’s chances of winning a national championship.

It was a decision no one honestly can say came as too much of a shocker.

Throughout all of last season, Izzo expressed his desire for the team to get past distractions, whether it was senior guard Kalin Lucas being kicked out of practice or senior guard Durrell Summers’ NBA draft stock or his inconsistent play.

After the regular season concluded with a 64-48 throttling of rival Michigan for the Big Ten Championship, the Spartans finally seemed to have put distractions behind them and were playing their best basketball.

But just a few days later, Allen was suspended for the Big Ten Tournament opener for not being a good teammate, as Izzo put it.

“It’s been no secret that Chris Allen’s been in a tenuous position since the spring,” Izzo said in a statement released Tuesday. “There were multiple obligations that Chris had to meet in order to return for his senior season.”

“While he did make progress through the summer, he has failed to meet all the obligations and will not be a part of our program this fall.”

Allen obviously had crossed Izzo too many times, and the coach was forced to make a sacrifice for the betterment of the team.

Izzo wants the spotlight on his program, but not in a negative way. He’s never been accused of being an illegal recruiter and the program’s integrity recently was praised in an anonymous survey done by ESPN.

“A guy like Tom Izzo, he’s there every year because you know what his program is about and so do his players,” an anonymous coach told ESPN. “There’s a consistency and an integrity.”

And Izzo felt that Allen was a necessary sacrifice in order to keep that integrity.

Looking forward to next season, the loss of a team’s top defending guard and three-point shooter should be alarming, but it isn’t with this group.

Don’t forget, this team went to the Final Four last season without Allen or Lucas for most of the way.

Junior guard Korie Lucious has shown he can play big-time basketball. Lucious has struggled on defense but can split time at point guard with Lucas. If the Spartans decide to play small, Summers can play as an athletic wingman. His defensive potential is limitless if the desire is there.

Some fresh blood will also be inserted into the program with freshman guard Keith Appling, the 2010 Mr. Basketball in Michigan. Appling, Lucious and Lucas all could play some point guard, allowing Izzo to use multiple lineups. Freshman guard Russell Byrd is coming off foot surgery but is a sharpshooter who can contribute.

Allen can be replaced. There might be some growing pains with several players returning from injury, but this team has so much depth and experience that one player can’t stop what could be the best season here since 2000.

Lucas and Summers have both made plenty of mistakes, but they redeemed themselves when given the opportunity by Izzo. Allen wasted his chances.

Izzo knows his team, and he knows what’s best for it. There are six Final Four banners in the rafter at Breslin Center that back that up.

On the floor of the Spartan locker room, there is a plaque in the middle of the floor that is “reserved for future championship.” By removing one piece of that locker room, Izzo might be able to add another piece come April 2011.

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