He’s Baaaaack.
This guy…
Much to the, chagrin, of Spartans everywhere, yesterday it was announced that John L. Smith will take over as interim head coach at Arkansas for the 2012 season.
Ohio State Spring Game Takeaways.
On a cold, wet, misty day in Columbus, I sat in the stadium and watched along with 80,999 other people as the Urban Renewal (as they call it) got underway.
The annual Scarlet and Gray game seemed to be more about the coaches this season than about any individual players, and rightfully so.
Watching as the players ran out onto the field for warm-ups in 42 degree and raining weather, Urban trotted out in a white windbreaker and black shorts. That alone, won over the crowd on Saturday. It was literally all that section 214 could talk about.
Detroit Lions Interested in Keshawn Martin
Expected to be called in the middle rounds of next week’s NFL Draft, MSU slot receiver and return specialist Keshawn Martin is getting some love from the Detroit Lions. Invited to a local workout, Martin, along with teammate Edwin Baker got some work with the Lions staff for evaluation.
Regarded as one of the best slot receivers/ returners in the draft, Martin could be an excellent option for Matthew Stafford as a guy to get the ball to in space. Martin’s abilities would surely help stretch the field and open up some opportunities for the Lion’s big receivers, Calvin Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew.
“You can move him around a lot as they did at Michigan State. Get the ball in his hands, he’s great after the catch in the open field, reverses, wide receiver screens, all that type of thing they do. Return game. All those things Keshawn Martin can help you with. So I think he’s one of those guys in the third, fourth round who’ll be interesting.”
-ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper
Spring Football Notes.
Some quick notes on the MSU football front:
- Tony Lippett is likely out for the remainder of the spring with an ankle injury. This is likely the most noteworthy since I expect some big things from Lippett this season, and sitting on the sidelines won’t help his maturation.
- In Lippett’s absence, Jeremy Langford is again on the move, this time to Wideout. When asked about the transtion of Langford to the receiver’s group, Dantonio mentioned that Langford is too athletic to be burried as the #4 runningback, which I totally agree. Put it this way, if Langford is half as athletic as he was in NCAA Football 2011, he’ll make a stellar slot receiver and return specialist. Perfect fit into Keshawn Martin’s shoes.
- The Tyler Hoover Experiment is going… okay, i guess? Hoover’s move from DE to DT is still a bit of a head scratcher, but in Dantonio we trust. From what I have read, it sounds as though Gholston and Rush, especially, have the DE positions down, and there is no sense in keeping Hoover’s athleticism on the sidelines. From the sounds of Dantonio’s latest presser, Hoover is spending every minute of practice in the DT position, sort of a baptism by fire approach.
- Starting Cornerback Darqueze Dennard is also out for the remainder of the spring. No biggie, the guy is solid.
Michigan State holds their annual Spring Football scrimmage in two weeks on April 28th. Lot’s of questions will hopefully be answered by that time.
Go Green.
Derrick Nix Will Remain A Spartan.
In a press conference held this afternoon, MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo announced that Junior Center Derrick Nix will not be dismissed from the team in lieu of his recent arrest.
Nix was pulled over by East Lansing Police, cited, and arrested for driving under the influence and possession of marijuana.
“The easy thing for me to do would be to get rid of him. Trust me, it would be easier. I’m gonna definitely make life miserable for him, because I want him to be successful.”
-Tom Izzo
Nix would later take the podium to give a tearful apology for his transgressions.
Let’s call it what it is… Nix has already pled guilty to the charge and will see some jail time. It is expected that Nix will still have some further punishments once the 2012-2013 season starts, which could include a length of time on the bench. Hopefully Nix can overcome this hurdle and learn from what this ordeal has to teach him about life.
Go Green.
Alan Anderson Called Up To The NBA.
Former Spartan Alan “Double A” Anderson signed a 10 day contract with the Toronto Raptors recently in the wake of the release of swingman Rasual Butler on Friday. Plus, nagging injuries to DeMar DeRozan (ankle) and Jerryd Bayless (hip pointer).
Anderson, in limited action against Orlando last night scored 2 points and collected a rebound and an assist.
The Raptors will have Anderson at their disposal for games against the Nuggets, Heat, and Wizards. Hopefully, Anderson can make an impression during his time with the Raptor organization.
Go Green!
Thank You Torey Krug.
Two days after MSU’s 3-1 loss in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament, Defenseman Torey Krug has chosen to forgo his senior season in East Lansing and has signed a contract with the defending Stanley Cup Champions, Boston Bruins.
Krug departs MSU a two-time captain and reigning CCHA Player-of-the-Year.
“I think it also says a lot about him that he picked a defending Stanley Cup champion. It’s not like he’s just looking to go to a place that’s struggling to make the playoffs and maybe there’s greater opportunity on their blue line to get in the lineup. He wants to go to a championship-level club, which I think really speaks a lot about him.”
- Tom Anastos, Head Coach
Life Goes On.
Painful.
As I was alerted though, as I made the comment out loud to a colleague “On to football”, there is still an MSU team in NCAA post season play. The Spartan hockey squad takes on #3 seeded Union (NY) today at 3:00 in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament.
The difference maker for the Spartans all season has been Junior Defenseman Torey Krug, who has garnered the 2012 CCHA Player Of The Year Award.
Admitedly, not knowing too much about the Spartan hockey team, or anything about Union for that matter, I am going to make the prediction that MSU takes round one 3-2 and Krug helps ease the pain of last night’s loss from the Basketball team.
Go Green!
MSU vs. Louisville. Sweet 16.
#1 MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (29-7, 13-5) v. #4 LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (28-9, 10-8)
NCAA TOURNAMENT SWEET SIXTEEN
U.S. AIRWAYS CENTER, PHOENIX, ARIZONA
THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012 @ 7:47 PM EST
TV: TBS
For the tenth time in fifteen years, Michigan State is in the Sweet 16, and if they hope to advance to Saturday’s Elite 8, they have to get passed a tough Louisville squad. I’d say for the Spartans, it’s a good thing we have a coach that is 7-2 in the Sweet 16 and winners of the last two appearances.
For Rick Pitino’s group, it all starts with Peyton Siva who averages 9.2 points and 5.2 assists per game. The focus however, won’t be on Louisville’s offense, but rather on their defense. Pitino teams are infamous for their full court pressure defense that often combines full court and half court traps designed to force steals, turnovers, and stupid decisions. The last time these two teams met up in the NCAA tournament was in 2009 and saw the Spartans advance passed Lousville in large part due to Kalin Lucas’ success in breaking the press. Louisville had no other choice but to abandon their game plan early on and attempt to play the Spartans head on.
Theorized byIzzo this week, and later confirmed by Pitino, the Cardinals have no intention of letting up the press tonight, regardless of the score, which puts Keith Appling and Travis Trice’s play at a premium importance.
Keys to victory:
- Limit turnovers. The Spartans haven’t been doing too bad as of late with 10.6 turnovers a game in the post season. Certainly that number could be better, and up against a team like Louisville, if the guards are not prepared for the capture of the defense, it could easily spiral out of control to be a 15+ turnover night.
- Payne and Nix. In the last meeting with the Cardinals, Goran Suton hit Louisville with 17 first half points. Lucas was able to break the press going into half court and facilitate to Suton who took smart, high percentage shots. Assuming Appling and Trice can break Louisville’s press, they will be looking for Payne and Nix down low for those same easy buckets.
- Rebounding. Louisville, self-admittedly, is outmatched on the glass. But that is not to say that they will automatically secede from the rebounding battle. Chane Behanan and Gorgui Dieng will definitely get after the ball and compete with Green, Payne, and Nix for rebounds. If the Spartans do what they’re suppose to, we should be all good on the glass. The game changes immensley though if we start to lose what little advantage we have.
Prediction: The Spartans lead all teams going into the third round of tournament play, connecting on 57% of their field goals. I believe that trend continues tonight. Watch for Appling to have his early struggles breaking the press, but half time adjustments will open up Spartan guards to bring the ball up the court and fascilitate to wide open shooters. Brandon Wood and Austin Thornton should be drilling three-pointers left and right in clutch situations. Louisville is going to do some serious running and this thing is going to go down as one of the most talked about games in the 2012 tournament. MSU 83, Louisville 79.
BTW: MSU will be one man lighter this weekend. Branden Dawson was reportedly excused off of the team bus due to a missed class assignment. From the sounds of it, this should be an extremely humbling moment for Dawson as he’ll be forced to watch MSU from home. I would love nothing more to see him help the team celebrate a birth in the Final Four on the court Saturday (should we be fortunate enough to have it come to that), but from the sounds of it, this is an Izzo life lesson that hopefully this young man can grow from. Dawson will arguably be one of the focal points for the team moving forward next season.
Go Green!
