MSU Basketball Blog
Men’s basketball reporters Alex Altman and Cash Kruth and women’s basketball reporter Joseph Terry take you inside both MSU basketball programs.
Recent posts
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Merchant named to World University Games staff
MSU women’s basketball coach Suzy Merchant was named as an assistant coach for USA Basketball for the 2009 USA World University Games, to be held this summer in Belgrade, Serbia.
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Izzo returns to Detroit, throws first pitch at Tigers-Yankees game
Detroit — MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo returned on Monday to the Motor City, where he threw out the first pitch of the Detroit Tigers-New York Yankees game at Comerica Park.
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Former Spartan Haynie signs with Shock
Former MSU standout Kristin Haynie is headed back to Michigan, signing a contract Wednesday with the WNBA’s Detroit Shock.
Team needs Morgan to be successful
Before hopping a plane to Disney World for the Old Spice Classic, MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo was looking for answers about his fifth-ranked team.
After a three-game stretch that had more twists and turns than a roller coaster, he might have less answers, and even more questions.
There were times when the Spartans looked like a clear-cut favorite to make the Final Four, and others when they looked like a team destined for the NIT.
No player better typified the enigmatic nature of the team this weekend than junior forward Raymar Morgan. Morgan, a preseason second-team All-Big Ten selection and Wooden Award candidate, continued to frustrate Izzo with inconsistency — a plague that many thought he abandoned last season.
The junior went from scoring a season-low four points against Maryland to a season-high 29 points against Oklahoma State. He followed those outings up with a nine point performance against Wichita State.
If there’s anything that’s clear so far this season, it’s that the Spartans will go as far as Morgan takes them, because even though the Spartans have a roster brimming with capable scorers, no one boasts the multi-dimensional talents that can be found in Morgan’s arsenal.
Morgan is at his best when he’s aggressive. Against Idaho and Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, his physical talents were best accentuated when he was slashing inside and drawing trips to the charity stripe. Far too many times during this tournament, he was camping outside on the perimeter and simply getting lost on the attack.
When MSU came back against Wichita State, it’s because Morgan scored six points (two layups and a dunk) in two minutes that tilted the momentum.
In order for MSU to defeat No. 1 North Carolina on Wednesday, Morgan will need to reinvent the style that made him such a nuisance against Idaho and IPFW. Granted, North Carolina is a different type of animal, but Morgan has got just as much talent as anyone who will step foot on that court.
Come Wednesday, he’ll have a chance to prove it.
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