1. Izzo’s comments Tuesday about his team and program are worth noting
EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo said a few things that stood out Tuesday during his first news conference of his 30th season as Michigan State’s head men’s basketball coach.
No. 1, almost right off the bat, was: “I think we’re a much tougher team than last year.”
When asked to elaborate, Izzo spoke mostly about the Spartans being a larger group.
“We’re bigger,” he said. “(Transfer) Frankie (Fidler) is a lot bigger on the wing. We’re bigger there. I think at center, both transfers Szymon (Zapala) and Coop (Carson Cooper) have stepped up a lot and are more physical. And I think on the 4 line, we have a variety of players that we can play with, but with Book (Xavier Booker) and Jaxon (Kohler), Book is more physical than he was and Jaxon is a lot more physical than he was, so I think we’re going to be more physical as a team.”
Physicality is a form of toughness. I’m not sure that’s all Izzo was referring to in his earlier remark. This is a talented group, albeit a somewhat inexperienced one. If it’s also a physically and mentally tough group, that will go a long way toward making a team a force on the court and in the Big Ten standings.
Izzo was speaking before the second official practice of the season, but between summer workouts and the trip to Spain, where MSU played three games, he should have a good idea of the makeup of this team.
Also, as for the positional distribution he mentioned, don’t get too carried away. I still think you’ll also see Kohler at center and maybe Booker finishing games at center, and Kohler and Booker sometimes paired together, with a lot of Coen Carr at power forward. If Carr plays like he did in the finals in Spain, he’ll need to be on the field. And right now, he’s better at power forward.
The second comment that stood out to me was when Izzo was asked to give an overview of his program. His response:
“We just have to get back to championship level. That’s the biggest thing I want to see this team achieve. Last year, the last five losses, we were leading in the last two or three minutes. That’s inexcusable. Coach has to take responsibility for that, which I do, and hopefully we can fix that. I’ve been working a lot on last-minute shots and the shot clock at the end.”
Those are two different points. But Izzo continues to acknowledge that the results of the last few years are not what they used to be. And while that may seem obvious, coaches can get defensive about it, Izzo included. The fact that he continues to live in that reality and push for more is not insignificant.
“Now I have to make sure the best is yet to come. I really believe that,” Izzo said later.
A difficult task, but with the right mindset.
As for not finishing games, his memory isn’t accurate — MSU wasn’t close against North Carolina late in a game and didn’t tie with Purdue in the Big Ten tournament until the final two minutes and never got within a field goal of Purdue late in a game a few weeks earlier — but there were a number of close losses in February and March, the kind of games that teams that win Big Ten championships and advance to the Final Four find a way to win.
Part of it will depend on the point guard and part of it will depend on something else, he said. After talking about his team’s physicality and improving the depth of the roster, Izzo concluded by saying: “Now it’s about finding the guy who can play at the end of the season. I think that’s going to be the key.”
I think it’ll figure itself out, although there’s a little bit of trial and error. It’ll probably start with Jaden Akins. The best chance for Akins to be that guy is to realize that this guy doesn’t have to be just a shooter in the final seconds. He did a good job in Game 3 in Spain creating for others when he got in the teeth of the defense. If he does both — shoot and create better opportunities for his teammates — the ball can end up in his hands in late-game and late-game situations. It could also come down to Fidler or even Booker or maybe it’s just Fears creating and distributing and making the decisions. It doesn’t have to be one player, but they need at least one player who can get them a basket when they need it or when the offense is holding up.
2. Aidan Chiles’ thoughtful remarks and understanding of his misadventures are encouraging.
Whether Aidan Chiles will become the first perfect quarterback in history remains to be seen. But I liked what he said in response to his three-interception night at Boston College. He knows what we all know: Interceptions lose games. So do dropped passes to open receivers. And, just as important, he seemed a lot less dejected than he did after struggling in MSU’s opener, his first start, four games earlier.
“Three plays don’t define me, but you have to get rid of turnovers to win games,” Chiles said. “Without the turnovers, without the missed shots, we probably would win this game. That’s just the way it is. I still don’t think I’m any less of a person and any less of a player. I’m not discouraged.”
When asked where he thinks he is in his development, ahead of or behind where he wants to be, he had this to say: “I’m in a process. I’m in a learning process. I’m not going to put age on it, but I’m young. That’s just the way it is. Everybody knows I’m a young quarterback, but that doesn’t mean anything to me. I’m just learning… I wouldn’t say I’m where I want to be and I wouldn’t say I’m where I thought I was going to be. I’m in a process and wherever that process takes me, that’s where I’m going to go.”
The lesson: “One play can change the course of the game,” Chiles continued. “I knew that already, but this is going to change the game. If I make those two passes to Montorie (Foster), we’re going to win this game. If I don’t make those interceptions, I don’t know what’s going to happen on those offenses. So, one play.”
Chiles’ assessment of things, including why he missed some of those throws, is encouraging. They’re thoughtful remarks, frank remarks, that show he understands what needs to be done, that it can also take some time and why things sometimes go wrong.
“Sometimes I know I’m a little nervous and my feet aren’t in place (and) the ball goes flying a little bit,” he said. “Other times I might make the right read and the wrong timing. But overall it’s just something I have to work on myself and get through, maybe make the game a little bit slower for myself. Learn to work on slowing the game down a little bit. That’s about it.”
It seems he understood the problem.
RELATED: Couch: Aidan Chiles is a tough player to handle. But he’s the QB the MSU football team needs.
3. Nightingale’s dream comes true: Munn Ice Arena is once again the toughest ticket in town
Adam Nightingale never imagined it would happen again so quickly. I doubted Michigan State University hockey could ever become the toughest sport in town again. But here it is. Two years later.
Nightingale, in his first press conference before his third season as the University of Michigan hockey coach, revealed Wednesday that the program sold out of season tickets and student tickets were gone in about four minutes. Individual game tickets will be available, but Munn Ice Arena will be packed again and the days of deciding to go to a game and grabbing a few seats at the last minute are over.
It was Nightingale’s dream two years ago. It didn’t take long for it to become a reality.
“Looking back, you see how it worked out: There weren’t a lot of people coming to our games, and our guys had to earn it,” Nightingale said. “And it wasn’t a handout. It wasn’t, ‘Hey, we’re going to get free tickets to try to make it look like we had a crowd.’ It was a real crowd. … Like you’re not going to be able to get a ticket to the games. And our guys pride themselves on that. But now we have to make sure we keep it.”
MSU, which is coming off a Big Ten championship and a Big Ten Tournament championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, begins play Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4-5, at Lake Superior State, before opening at home Oct. 11-12 against national runner-up Boston College.
This will be the most frenzied October crowd we’ve seen at Munn in decades.
RELATED: Expectations rise around Michigan State hockey in preseason
Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.
This article was originally published in the Lansing State Journal: 3 Quick Takes on Aidan Chiles, Tom Izzo, and Adam Nightingale from the University of Michigan
