Neitzel off the bench?
A Call to Izzo Â
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Let’s take a short trip down memory lane, shall we? Do you remember the Spartan basketball team of 2004-2005? The team that had tons of talent but was made better by the all-everything freshman guard? Well this years MSU team is eerily similar to that one and if they’re going to have the same success a similar change needs to be made.
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That 04-05 team was deep with guards and small forwards with Torbert, Alan Anderson, Mo Ager, Shannon Brown, Chris Hill, and a certain true freshman. Chris Hill was seen as the best shooter out of that bunch, a consistent outside threat who rarely turned the ball over, making him a key senior guard in Izzo’s system. But there was something about the freshman, the flashy, yet consistent ball-handling freshman that Izzo loved. He gushed about the kid every opportunity he got. He took the rains off the kid and he responded well, but especially well after a change was made.
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In that season, in early February, the Spartans suffered a tough a loss to number 1 Illinois that “dropped†the Spartans to 14-4, with a 5-2 conference record. Izzo knew that his team needed a shake-up. They weren’t a bad team, but they just weren’t clicking at times like they should be. So Izzo finally made the tough decision: His senior starting guard, the one who had done everything that Izzo had asked of him, would now come of the bench. Chris Hill had lost his starting spot to a true freshman named Drew Neitzel. The team had stability at the point for the rest of the season. This wasn’t a knock on Hill; he just couldn’t do some of the things that Neitzel could. Hill still played a vital role on the team too, becoming a 6th, sometimes 7th man, with Torbert. The moved proved successful for MSU as they went on to win 12 out of their next 15 games, with only one more loss in the Big 10 season, one in the conference tournament and one in the Final Four to the eventual National Champion.
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While this team may not have the overall athleticism of that Final Four team, it does have as much overall talent. This year’s Spartan team is one coaching decision away from taking off and playing at a consistent level with fire and energy. That move is this: Start Neitzel, but play Kalin Lucas more in the second half.
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Actually this team may be ready to have Lucas start…again.  With Neitzel’s inconsistent shooting this season, they may not lose much offensively with Lucas in the game. In fact, they add a dimension that Drew can’t bring: Penetration. Kalin Lucas is the fastest player that Tom Izzo has ever coached. He has the ability to get into the lane and create his own shot or penetrate and kick and create a shot for others. When Penn State had MSU on the ropes in the second half, Lucas’ ability to get in the lane and draw fouls, or kick out for threes single-handedly kept MSU in the game. Lucas’ mid-range game has quietly become efficient too, with his array of floaters and jumpers he can put up points in a hurry.
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I know Drew Neitzel was preseason All-American and All-Big Ten and Big Ten player of the year and probably a few other awards. I know he has done so much for this program and this team from a leadership role. But this team can’t succeed with 2-10 shooting nights and logging so many minutes that his legs are heavy at the end of games. Until Raymar Morgan learns to stay out of foul trouble, this team NEEDS strong play, smart decision making and scoring from the guard position, all things that Kalin Lucas brings. Just look at his 18 point, 7 assist, and 1 turnover night in Happy Valley.
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I know we all love Drew Neitzel because he’s such a great kid, but like Nino Brown said in New Jack City “It’s business baby, it ain’t never personal.†So as much as Tom Izzo praises Kalin Lucas, as much as he knows MSU needs a shot in the arm, as much as this season means to him and this program, is he ready to make another gutsy decision? Will Tom Izzo actually bring Drew Neitzel off the bench in the second half or have him on the bench at the end of games? Only time will tell, but remember this: Kalin will probably be a starter next year, why not get him used to it now? Come on Izzo, do want you’ve done before and make the right decision.
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