Different World for Michigan State

Austin Thornton may not be a math major, but he knows simple arithmetic. When his eyes scanned the pre-season Associated Press college basketball poll recently he counted from 1 to 25 and didn’t see the words Michigan State anywhere on the list.

The senior guard was a tad disappointed, but he wasn’t completely surprised. During the 6-foot-5 veteran’s stay in East Lansing, the Spartans have gone through a lot of things, but they began each season with the number 2 or 3 in front of the school’s name. Still, that’s what you get when you let down the voters with a 19-15 record in 2010-11, a post-season implosion, and the loss of several key players.

“It’s a different experience for us,” Thornton said of not being ranked.

So was last year. The Spartans, who reached the Final Four a season earlier, were picked to return and be a national title contender. Instead, it was the shakiest year Michigan State has been under coach Tom Izzo since his first season of 16-16 in 1995-96.

“They say when it rains it pours,” Thornton said. “It was a thunderstorm. It almost felt like a wasted year.”

The season was definitely an aberration under Izzo, a four-time national coach-of-the-year, who at least has his string of 14 straight NCAA appearances intact. Not only did injuries bother the Spartans, but apparently the chemistry wasn’t as reliable as anything Madame Curie devised, either. This year Michigan State returns star senior forward Draymond Green and it was supposed to return forward Delvin Roe. Instead, continued nagging knee problems forced Roe to quit basketball.

Izzo recently joked that when he heard a college basketball expert suggest he only had two starters set he wondered out loud “I’m trying to think of who our second starter is?” It’s pretty much Green and four guys trying to establish themselves in Michigan State tradition, like Michael Jordan and the Jordanaires with the Chicago Bulls way back.

Michigan State has a reputation as one of the best college teams rising to the occasion at tournament time. Last March was kind of ugly. The Spartans went down in the Big Ten tournament to Penn State and then bowed out of the NCAAs in the first round with a two-point loss to UCLA. Instead of the usual 25-or-so wins, a team that seemed bursting with talent didn’t reach 20 in the victory column.

After the preceding season, Izzo, a Michigan State institution, flirted with the Cleveland Cavaliers about jumping to the NBA. He was offered many millions of dollars to coach, but turned down the Cavs. LeBron James promptly left Cleveland through free agency and the Cavs went into a dismal tailspin.

At one point Cleveland lost a league record 26 games in a row. Despite his own unexpected woes, Izzo could look at that situation and say, “Boy, at least I didn’t go there.” However, before he could compare the two disappointing circumstances, Izzo said, he received a text from Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert reading, “Remember Tom, things could be worse. We’re going for our 25th straight loss.”

“It could have been worse,” Izzo quipped, “but I would have been a lot richer.”

In discussing all of the unknowns involving the 2011-12 Spartans, Izzo used the description “underdogs” several times. Michigan State and the word underdog have not been seen in the same sentence in this century. Clearly, that is the theme Izzo is pursuing this winter, accurate or not.

But a benefit is taking pressure off Michigan State, Izzo can live without the perk. Someone asked if he would enjoy not being a league and national favorite for a change and Izzo said, “Hell, no. Are you kidding? No. It’s back to a reality check. I don’t enjoy the underdog role. But when you have to re-evaluate once in a while, it’s healthy.

Green, the 6-7, 230-pound leader of this team, who is going to start, has bought into Izzo’s outlook, anyway.

“Now we’re the underdogs,” Green said. “It’s someone’s opinion. You have to respect it (being highly ranked and non-ranked) both ways.”

Michigan State has six freshmen on the roster and some of them will play a lot. How quickly they mature and adapt to college play from high school will determine how well the Spartans fare in the Big Ten. Green figures he should be a big brother figure.

“Just leading them and educating them every single game,” he said.

Already counted on to be a scorer, rebounder and defender, Green will have to be part-coach, too.