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Hoop, There It Is!

Summers' defensive lapses continue to land him on bench

By Chris Vannini

Created:
03/13/10 2:26am

Last updated:
03/13/10 2:26am

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Indianapolis – MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo called junior guard Durrell Summers his end-of-the-year project.

With the NCAA Tournament beginning next week, time is running out.

Summers played 24 minutes in Friday’s 72-67 loss to Minnesota but only saw eight minutes in the second half and none in overtime. He finished with four points on 1-of-5 shooting.

Golden Gophers guard Blake Hoffarber, with whom Summers was often matched up, hit four 3-point shots including two right in the face of Summers, who barely put up a hand.

“I just needed somebody that, you know, could guard somebody, and I just — between me and my assistants and some of my team, we just didn’t see that,” Izzo said when asked why Summers didn’t play much.

After the game, a dejected Summers sat in his locker and didn’t have many answers for reporters.

“I was hurt that we lost and I couldn’t help,” Summers said of his team’s loss.

Summers said he and junior guard Chris Allen would likely talk a little bit about each of their situations. Allen was suspended for violating team rules and Izzo was unsure if Allen would play in the team’s next game had the Spartans defeated Minnesota.

It’s been quite a fall for Summers. Izzo has always raved about Summers’ physical abilities but his commitment to the defensive side of the ball has been questioned throughout his career.

MSU will need Summers to improve his game if they want to make an NCAA tournament run. Summers was a key part of last season’s Final Four run and his abilities make him a difficult matchup, but his defensive efforts need to drastically improve.

“I’ll just look at this game and see what I did right and wrong and build on it, knowing it’s one-and-done time,” Summers said.

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