With one scholarship to fill for next year’s team, the MSU men’s basketball team is looking abroad to snag their last recruit. Last week, staff from MSU made a trip to Europe to look at 6-foot-10 center Erazem Lorbek.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson changed the way professional basketball is played and he is now almost guaranteed a place in basketball’s hallowed walls. Johnson, who played 13 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, was one of 14 players, coaches and teams nominated Wednesday for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. During his two-year career at MSU, Johnson put up record numbers.
Just a week after one piece of the Spartan men’s basketball coaching staff decided to stay put, another assistant soon might be leaving the MSU sidelines.MSU assistant coach Mike Garland will interview for the head coaching job at Wisconsin-Green Bay today, Wisconsin-Green Bay Sports Information Director Brian Nicol said.Garland, a teammate of MSU head coach Tom Izzo at Northern Michigan, has spent six seasons as an assistant on the Spartan bench.
With a win Sunday, the MSU baseball team salvaged a split in its four-game series with Big Ten leader Indiana at Kobs Field.The Spartans (22-8 overall, 6-5 Big Ten) started slow Sunday, but outlasted the Hoosiers (26-8, 8-4) 10-6.
The MSU basketball team received its first verbal commitment in a top 25 recruit for its 2003 recruiting class.Detroit DePorres junior point guard Brandon Cotton, widely considered a top prospect, told Spartan head coach Tom Izzo Monday that the two-year starter plans to don the green and white.Cotton said Izzo was the deciding factor in choosing MSU.“Coach Izzo wins a lot and produces good players,” Cotton said Monday night.
I have to admit, I am an Indiana Hoosier Basketball fan. For my money, it doesn’t get any better when Tom Coverdale hits a triple from the top of the arc and limps, on his bum ankle, to the other end of the court to play defense.
With another MSU recruit, Rochester High’s Paul Davis, becoming the latest Mr. Basketball award winner Monday, next year’s Spartan men’s basketball team will likely include the state’s past three winners - Davis, freshman guard Kelvin Torbert and sophomore guard Marcus Taylor. But the state’s highest prep accolade doesn’t guarantee instant success as a Spartan, and MSU head coach Tom Izzo said Torbert will spend the off-season working on returning his game to an elite level. “I think he’ll make some improvements and hopefully, they’ll be big improvements,” Izzo said.
When the Spartans first saw their NCAA Tournament seeding - No. 3 in the West Regional in Ann Arbor - they were pretty satisfied.
Michigan’s Mr. Basketball will be a Spartan for the fourth straight year. Paul Davis, a member of the MSU’s 2002 recruiting class, follows in the footsteps of Jason Richardson, Marcus Taylor and Kelvin Torbert. The Basketball Coaches Association, in conjunction with the Detroit Free Press, named Davis the 22nd annual Hal Schram Mr. Basketball recipient Monday. Davis, a 6-foot-10 center from Rochester High, received 760 points, while Anthony Roberson of Saginaw High got 382 points and Lester Abram of Pontiac Northern High received 269. Davis won the award despite breaking his right ankle 16 games into his senior season.
Washington - Following a disappointing 69-58 loss to North Carolina State in Friday’s first round of the NCAA Tournament, MSU men’s basketball associate head coach Brian Gregory quietly sat in the corner of the Spartans’ locker room.With his head in his hands, suit jacket off and tie slightly loosened, Gregory searched for a reason why the Spartans were exiting the tournament after one game for the first time since 1995.“You start wondering, ‘Did we really just run out of gas?’ ” he said.The last time Gregory and the Spartans (19-12) were in the MCI Center locker room, the mood was much different.At halftime, MSU owned a 12-point lead at 30-18 after forcing the Wolfpack (23-11) offense to 6-of-24 shooting.Gregory said the defensive effort in the opening half made the loss even more disappointing.“Anytime you defend as well as you did in the first half and you go out and don’t defend as well in the second half, there’s going to be frustration,” he said.But the exhausted, disappointed, angry and frustrated looks on the faces of his players had to be there.“I think if you don’t see frustration, you have to worry about what kind of kids you have,” he said.One Spartan who had been in the locker room after numerous tournament wins, junior forward Al Anagonye, said he knows he won’t forget being ousted from the tournament this early.“If it doesn’t (bother you), you shouldn’t play at Michigan State,” Anagonye said.
Washington - Despite a 69-58 loss to North Carolina State in Friday’s first round of the NCAA Tournament, Tom Izzo asked his players to savor the moment. With 44 seconds remaining and MSU trailing 67-55 at MCI Center, Izzo called a timeout.
Dear Marcus Taylor, I know we’ve both heard speculation about your future at MSU. And while you might be considering leaving school early for the NBA, I ask you to stay put. This isn’t for my benefit, really - it’s for your own good. I understand why entering the NBA Draft might sound like a good idea to you.
Washington - Midwestern basketball fans probably know who MSU sophomore guard Marcus Taylor is.
If MSU is able to knock off North Carolina State today, it will face one of two formidable opponents. No.
Friday’s first round NCAA Tournament matchup with North Carolina State will be a first for several Spartans. The inexperienced freshmen trio of Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert have raised questions about whether the youthful MSU men’s basketball team can handle the added pressures of March Madness.
The more Big Ten teams in the NCAA Tournament, the more money each school receives. This year’s tournament has five Big Ten teams.
If what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, the Spartan men’s basketball team can find strength in its loss to Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament last Friday. The Spartans (19-11) came out lethargic and couldn’t match the Hoosiers’ high intensity.
If everything went as planned in the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament, all four No.
Despite an early exit in the Big Ten Tournament, the MSU men’s basketball team heads into the NCAA Tournament with its finger on its biggest problem - intensity.The question will be, “Can the Spartans pick up the intensity after losing to Indiana in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament?”That same question was MSU head coach Tom Izzo’s biggest concern heading into the Big Ten Tournament.
A very critical factor in a team’s success during the NCAA Tournament can be who you play. And with a shocking upset just around the corner, anything is possible. Let’s take a look at the other teams in the bottom half of the East regional bracket. First round opponent: No.