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By Nate, February 22, 2010 10:41 am

Well just about every prediction I made for Sunday’s game was just horribly off:

- Evan Turner didn’t play well and OSU still won

- MSU’s depth was a non-issue (even with OSU’s lone bench player fouling out) as the team seemingly did their own thing in the first half going against the game plan of run-run-run and if it’s not there pound the ball in the post (post-ups and drives) and what resulted was a 13 point deficit and OSU controlling tempo.

- Raymar played with good effort, and was the only player praised by Coach Izzo in the post-game, but was not too crisp. He made some plays and left it all on the court but was again limited by a few silly fouls. For the rest of the season – and his career – I just expect a good effort out of Ray and if he does that good things will happen. Ray can’t compensate for the lack of a true presence in the middle (cough – we really miss G – cough) or when the wings decide they know more than Izzo – So, from now on I’m Ray’s biggest supporter and as long as the effort is there I got his back (and thank him for a fine career in the Green and White).

Joe Rexrode at the Lansing State Journal has a very interesting blog post about the state of the team:

\”Hey Joe\” MSU LCD Issues

These “LCD” issues explain a lot about the last three weeks (and have been mentioned before, but no one pays attention to these things when the team is winning) so too does Kalin’s injury and of course the expectations factor discounting the loss of Walton, Suton, Gray and Ibok.

So, where does this team go from here? The discussion will focus on the Purdue game and the how far this team can go in the Tourney. And a lot of judgments about the latter will be based on the performance in the former. However, I still would not read too much into what happens next Sunday – and I still think a rested and prepared Spartan Team can win in West Laffy (as a matter of fact the Flintstones began to build their legacy one cold Indiana winter night back in 1998 at Mackey Arena – maybe Kalin, Raymar and DayDay can re-build their own legacy there too… but I digress) – as certainly the Big Ten regular season hangs in the balance but MSU has built its program based on the NCAA Tournament not the Big Ten regular season (don’t get me wrong I like BT Championships as much as the next guy but banners hung in the center rafters with Final Four logos are more important than banners hung on the side rafters that say BT Champ). And I still think this team has a Tourney run in them. They’ll have to work out the “LCD” issues and it’s a good thing Tom Izzo is there to guide that process. If they can do that in time for the 3rd weekend in March this team can play for more than two games in the Dance. Of course, based on my last post I wouldn’t go wagering the house on my predictions.

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By Nate, February 17, 2010 12:29 pm

Item! After a 3 game skid the Spartans have righted the ship against PSU and IU on the road. Now, I know that PSU and IU are bad teams but winning conference road games is never easy no matter who you are playing. So, I’ll take the wins as a good sign. And as Kalin’s ankle gets healthier, Summers starts to play more defense and Raymar plays through his early-game stumbles this team will get better. The Spartans are not a great team – yet – but who is so far this season? Even Kansas has shown some chinks in their armor and it’s setting up to be an interesting March. For MSU the next test is a big one as the Buckeye$ roll into town on Sunday the 21st. Stay tuned for my analysis of this game…

Item! Snow is all the rage these days and is fast becoming a political tool – I of course have known the political applications of snow ever since I whitewashed those two Romney Petition Canvassers who knocked on my door one dreary February day.

Item! It seems that Kentucky knows no sense of decency. After Calipari and his hired guns stole one from Mississippi State the locals took exception and kindly offered “Coach” Cal and his troops some post-game refreshments. I should point out that a lot of the Bulldogs’ ire was directed at UK’s lowest paid staff for the day – the officials. I mean c’mon guys if you’re going to tank a game for Kentucky at least be subtle about it – two successive phantom foul calls and then a non-call on a clear goaltend isn’t really hiding your show cards, now is it? Of course, the difference between Rick Stansbury and Calipari is night and day – Calipari plays Wall and Cousins who smart money would wager have not seen the inside of a classroom since November and Coach Stansbury benches his leading scorer for the night because of his attitude in practice. One coach will do whatever is necessary to win a game and the other will do whatever is necessary to build a young man. The difference is striking but not surprising.

Item! I was once told that the United States Military forbids the use of blue ink pens – well here’s hoping that this exclusionary and miss-guided policy will fall to the wayside along with “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” Blue ink users want to be free to serve their country in the open and with multiple colors on one piece of paper.

Item! There hasn’t been much talk of coaches on the hot seat yet this season. I’d imagine that chatter will pick-up as the season draws closer to its conclusion. But I’d like to throw a few early hats into the ring – We have the two perennial contenders from the Big East: Norm Roberts at St Johns and Bobby Gonzalez at Seton Hall. And then there’s Doc Sadler at Nebraska and of course Ernie Kent at Oregon (which begs the question: how much good money can Phil Knight put after bad at OU Hoops?). Locally, I really do not see how Charles Ramsey at EMU can keep his job barring a run to the MAC Tourney Title (or the Athletic Department can’t afford to buy him out). So, in my mind the next logical question becomes will one of these openings work for Mark Montgomery to continue the Izzo/Heathcote coaching tree? My guess is yes and I would be really surprised if Monty isn’t running his own program come April or May.

Item! I really think I could be an Olympic Curler.

Item! Steve Lavin has fast become my second favorite basketball analyst – no one will ever un-seat Bill Raftery – I especially enjoy his graphics that have 5-7 points regarding a particular issue in college basketball. Last night he highlighted the 7 issues facing freshman as they transition to the college game. Number 7 was “Hootin’ with the Owls” as too much late night partying is not a good idea for the young kids trying to hoop.

Item! I wonder how much money the inventor of Post-It Notes made? After inventing something like that do you just walk away from the inventing game figuring you’ve peeked or do you re-double your inventing efforts trying to top the previous invention? I know my good ideas usually come in groups of threes.

Item! Purdue at Ohio State tonight. I predict a win for the Buckeyes, it will be tight but I just don’t think Purdue has anyone to stop Evan Turner (but who does?). Although OSU’s lack of depth could hurt them down the stretch, in this game it shouldn’t matter too much. It should be a good game and I wouldn’t be surprised if Moore and Turner go shot for shot for a couple of minutes. Looking forward to some Wednesday night hoops! And remember I’ll be back by Saturday with a look at the OSU@MSU game on Sunday.

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By Nate, February 10, 2010 9:50 am

Okay, 3 losses in a row was not what the doctor ordered for the Spartans and it’s hard to make excuses for the performance in 2 of the 3 games. However, it is important to remember that all is not lost and MSU is still in first place (they just have a little company now).

A couple of points about this last stretch of games:

- Obviously the injury to Kalin’s ankle has been a big factor. He played last night but at about 70% and his injury still impacted playing rotations. I would imagine that it has thrown off practice too – but his performance last night would seem to indicate that he’ll be back to normal soon.

- Morgan and Summers have been MIA. I do not like to pile on Ray and Rell as they both are good guys and Ray put out effort last night – it was just miss-directed. Both guys have a very high ceiling talent-wise and that is what is so frustrating to MSU fans when they struggle. Turning these guys around and getting them playing well again won’t just fall on Izzo and the coaches it will be a test of Draymond and Kalin’s leadership. The issue is in their heads, they need to shake it off and get going. Their success is directly proportional to the team’s success. Raymar is the key factor in determining what this team will become.

- I love Draymond Green – love him. But DayDay has been forcing things over this stretch and I can’t fault his heart and effort one bit but in the absence of others (some physically and some mentally) he has forced his game. He played great at Illinois but even then had some un-forced turnovers that lead directly to points (forcing passes in the post & knocking un-contested defensive rebounds out of bounds). I think a little rest and some help on the offensive end will get Draymond back on track, here’s hoping that comes soon.

- Korie Lucious has taken a lot of heat due to the turnovers of late and some of it is warranted. Long-term I think this stretch will help him next year and beyond when he’s the primary 1. Of course, given how things have gone recently I’m leaning more and more that Kalin will be back next season.

- As soon as Delvon Roe realizes that very few people can stop him within 10 feet of the basket he will be an offensive force. The defensive and rebounding aspects of his game are good but on offense he seems sort of tentative creating his own chances – he shouldn’t be, he has the tools and just needs to use them.

- One scheme issue has really reared its head over this stretch and that’s the high ball screen switching issue. The reason uw, UofI and PU got so many open looks from deep is that on high ball screens our bigs are not playing over and causing the wing defender to get buried below the screen (see Moore’s shot last night to stop MSU’s run after cutting it to 3). Last night all of the switching was off (see the open cuts and back doors) but this lack of communication and adjustment on the high ball screen has been an issue all season. I have to believe they’re being told the right way to play it but for some reason it just isn’t sinking in – the defense needs to step up from everyone and this issue is a big factor in the defensive play.

- Overall, the conference championship is still very much a possibility. The next two games are on the road but against Penn State and Indiana. PSU is terrible but after these 3 losses I start to get a pit in my stomach that MSU will be their miracle game this season too – Talor Battle is good but he shouldn’t be good enough to beat MSU by himself. And IU is improved but MSU still outmans them and should beat them no matter where they play. If the Spartans take care of business and win these two it sets the stage for the 21st against OSU – that will be a lynchpin game in the BT Championship race.

At the end of the day I still have faith in Izzo and the talent that’s on this team. And I still have faith in the aforementioned’s ability to get the team chemistry on track and nothing helps team chemistry like a conference road win – So, Go State Beat PeeSU.

And a quick note of thanks to Chet for the ticket to last night’s game. The travel was tough and the game ugly but there are few places in the world I’d rather be than in the Breslin with a good friend. Thanks again Chester.

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By Nate, January 29, 2010 3:16 pm

Item! Michigan State is off to the best Big Ten start in school history at 8-0. After stealing two one-point games in a row on the road the Spartans return to Breslin tomorrow to face the Northwestern Wildcats. MSU not only has the motivation of going 9-0 and lengthening their conference lead but also exacting some revenge for last year’s 30’ shot fueled upset to the ‘Cats. A team that can steal conference games on the road, especially two last shot wins, might be the start of something special – add to this the fact MSU still hasn’t played it’s best basketball of the season yet and there is ample reason for excitement in East Lansing.

Item! After seeing Jalen Rose dressed in his clown suit while giving back to the community Tuesday Evening, it occurred to me that I should do something to help this gracious human-being help others. So, here’s my tip to Jalen as he begins his burgeoning TV career: buy a copy of Rosetta Stone, the English Edition.

Item! Injuries have plagued the Big Ten this year from Kevin Koble to Lewis Jackson to Maurice Creek to Evan Turner to Jon Leuer it seems almost every conference squad has endured a tough injury and that has hurt the overall perception of the conference. Turner and Jackson are back and at least Turner looks to have not missed a step. Here’s hoping the rest of the season is injury free and everyone (expect Wisconsin) has a nice Tourney run.

Item! I am yet to see Avatar but I did see a cat with only 3 legs the other day – Mother Nature still makes the best special effects.

Item! The other night Steve Lavin listed the “Five C’s” of good officiating. They are: Consistency, Communication, Conditioning, Calmness and Courage. As per usual I think the Lav is right on with his assessment. Although, I would add a sixth – “Comfort” as in comfort fitting slacks, no one wants to see a ref running around in pants 2 sizes too small.

Item! What has happened to the Somali Pirates? For a while there pirates were hip again and then just as quickly as I was getting out my eye patch and fake peg leg they seem to have disappeared from the news. No worries though, I bet they’re hiding out in a secret cave harbor until the coast is clear.

Item! After watching almost 5 seasons of EMU Basketball and the coaching of Charles Ramsey I have reached the conclusion that he may be the worst coach in all of D-1. Now mind you this is far from a rush to judgment, as I’ve given him the benefit of the doubt because he’s had bad luck with injuries, transfers and troubled kids that were talented players. But this year he has all the pieces in place, including 3 guys who would start just about anywhere they played, and he’s just one game above 500 overall and 2 games below in conference. The Eagles are struggling because Ramsey cannot make in-game adjustments and appears to be completely lost during end-game situations. EMU with its location, facilities and history should be a mid-major power and I hate to say it but C-Ram is a big reason they aren’t.