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Wednesday, March 14
Repeat after them: Desire, desire, desire
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Skip the obvious shooting, defense and rebounding musts for Michigan State to repeat and instead zero in on what it will really take for the Spartans to cut down the nets in Minneapolis.
Desire.
|  | | Andre Hutson and the Spartans shared the Big Ten regular-season title. Is some more NCAA hardware next? |
The Spartans had more drive than any other team a year ago to get to the Final Four and ultimately win the national championship. But gone from that team and that quest are veterans Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and A.J. Granger. Repeating in college basketball hasn't happened since 1992 when Duke pulled it off.
Early departures to the NBA have curtailed teams from making a similar run. But so too has complacency. Getting that intensity back is Tom Izzo?s toughest chore this week as he prepares the Spartans for a run out of the South regional.
"You've got to have people driven to do it," Izzo said after the Spartans lost a Big Ten quarterfinal to Penn State in Chicago. "When Mateen came back (instead declaring for the draft as a junior) his only goal in life and his dream was to win championships. Nothing else mattered. Nothing. That's hard to do. It's hard to get guys so nuts about it. You've got to get guys who care and here I didn't see the sense of urgency needed to win championships."
The Spartans are younger than a year ago. The nucleus inside and out is guard Charlie Bell and forward Andre Hutson. But the Spartans lean more offensively on sophomore wing Jason Richardson, freshman point Marcus Taylor and freshman post Zach Randolph. To win the title, or at least get to the Final Four for a third straight season, they'll need Bell to play Cleaves-like and will this team to the title. Hutson has to be as much of a driven force inside, especially defensively.
The Spartans aren't clicking offensively, at least not on 3-pointers and are vulnerable to a zone. But they've got to hunker down and be a tough, defensive-minded team again. If they make it harder to score, force turnovers and convert then that should turn into an intensity level needed to make a run. Shooting a higher clip at the line and defending the 3-point shot, something they didn't do as well against Joe and Jon Crispin of Penn State last week in Chicago is a necessity.
"We need Charlie to take over this team and play with a lot of confidence," Michigan State assistant Stan Heath said. "We shouldn't need a wake up call (like Penn State) because we've been through the wars. One thing we've done the last four years is responded when we're down. This will be a challenge for our seniors."
Richardson said the Spartans simply have to guard the ball better and not let the opposing guards pressure them. He's confident the Spartans can defend the title. The South bracket, at least their top half of it, seems manageable. A potential second-round game against either Fresno State or Cal shouldn't be a loss. The Spartans have matchup advantages against Gonzaga, Oklahoma or even Virginia in a potential Sweet 16 game. But Florida could loom as a possible land mine in the Elite Eight. The Gators can pressure the Spartans and have at least one inside presence in Udonis Haslem to match the Spartans (Brent Wright is out for the tournament). The Gators certainly have incentive if the two teams meet after losing to the Spartans in last season's title game and then again in the regular season in East Lansing in December.
"I've got the same worries I had all year," Izzo said. "We have to get that sense of urgency that isn't manufactured by me. We have had times when we have had it and that makes a difference. We need Andre Hutson to step up. I've got a good team and good players but to be the best, you can't be good, you've got to be damn good and you can't have bad stretches."
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Tough to defend
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Michigan State is the fifth defending champion in the last 10 years to go into a tournament as a No. 1 seed, but only one -- Duke in 1992 -- has been able to repeat. How the last 10 champions fared the year after winning the title:
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Yr.
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Team (seed)
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Finish
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'92
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Duke (1)
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Champion
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'93
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Duke (3)
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2nd round
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'94
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UNC (1)
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2nd round
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'95
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Arkansas (2)
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Runner-up
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'96
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UCLA (4)
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1st round
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'97
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Kentucky (1)
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Runner-up
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'98
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Arizona (1)
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Final 8
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'99
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Kentucky (3)
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Final 8
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'00
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UConn (5)
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2nd round
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'01
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Mich. St. (1)
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Izzo saw some troubling signs against the Nittany Lions. The Spartans weren't the first ones to loose balls and the rebounding late wasn't locked up for them, usually a staple for the Spartans. He said he accepts some of the blame for a poor practice demeanor leading up to the Penn State game. He has had time to get the Spartans in gear with a week in between games.
But there is hope. While Bell has slumped, Taylor is making major strides especially on his 3-point shooting. Izzo expects to see some zone, making it imperative for Bell to hit shots. He knows teams won't leave Hutson and Randolph unprotected inside.
"We're as good as any team in the country inside but we don't have the deadly 3-point shooting we had with Peterson and Granger last year," Izzo said. "We might be a better overall 3-point shooting team but not as consistent. We're better inside because of Randolph and an improving Hutson."
But in the end it will come down to the Spartans ability to be tougher than their opponent.
"We've got four guys playing a lot who have been to two Final Fours and I think that is worth something," Izzo said. "We've got to be good enough to get to the Sweet 16. There are other factors, some are luck and some are experience, to go further."
The main one is desire. If the Spartans find they have it again they can repeat.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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