Spartan Basketball Enjoys Fan Friendly Day
10/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 25, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's basketball team held its annual Green and White Game Sat., Oct. 25, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. As fans poured into Breslin for the free event, it gave Spartan faithful a first look at MSU in a competitive setting.
Players and coaches signed autographs for nearly an hour after the doors opened at 10 a.m. For the next hour, the team and head coach Tom Izzo held an informal coaching clinic, showing fans some drills and six different plays the Spartans run in games. Participants were selected from the crowd and had the opportunity to go up against their favorite Spartan players.
"Getting to interact with the fans is good, we didn't get to do this last year," said sophomore Maurice Ager. "It helps us to get this opportunity to meet the fans who support us so much."
Rich Peterson, 38, and a native of Jackson, Mich., had the chance to step onto the court and could hardly contain his nerves.
"I coach a team and play ball every Wednesday," said Peterson. "And then I drop the ball when Coach Izzo hands it to me. Yeah, you're nervous. But it's awesome."
Other fan participants included MSU guard Chris Hill's younger sister, Nikki.
"I was nervous just because there was pressure to make the shot like my brother would," said Hill. "I've always had an appreciation for what Chris does and goes through, but I guess I feel I can relate a little better now."
 Coach Izzo instructs a fan to keep his head up during Saturday's fan clinic.  | |
The scrimmage tipped off after the conclusion of the clinic as Maurice Ager, Alan Anderson, Tim Bograkos, Drew Naymick and Paul Davis started for the Green team. Chris Hill, Rashi Johnson, Kelvin Torbert, Jason Andreas and Delco Rowley started for the White team.
Davis and Ager led the Green team in the first half as Davis had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Ager scored 25 points, dishing out two assists.
"It's good for us to see what kind of shape we're in and see how we'll play together as a team," said Ager.
Torbert and freshman Shannon Brown led the White team as Torbert had 18 points and was 2-of-3 from three point range and 8-of-12 from the field. Brown scored 12 on 5-of-6 shooting.
"This gets us some real game experience," said Brown. "In practice, the coaches can stop and tell you when you're doing something wrong, but in a game you have to adjust as you go. It reminds us how fast you have to play the game and how quickly you have to get back in transition defense."
Led by the young crew of Brown, Ager and Naymick the White team was within three points until the 13-minute mark in the first half.
A three-point basket by Ager put Green up by nine as Cotton added two points. Anderson went on to make a deep basket to put Green up 14. A Paul Davis dunk put them ahead by 16.
At halftime, the Green team led, 64-51. Many players turned their jerseys inside-out, as the coaches tried out different combinations in this early look at the team.
"We wanted to get a look at some different combinations so we switched some players at halftime," said Izzo. "Overall, it was a fun day. It's great to have some fun times with our fans, especially the younger kids that couldn't stay up for Midnight Madness.
"On the good side, we played very well offensively. At times, we didn't check anybody. The way I see it, if you are good enough to run up and down the court and score, you should also be good enough to stop somebody. But I'd rather have guys that come in with a lot of offensive skills, because I can teach them to play hard on defense."
 Alan Anderson readies for a monster jam. | |
Coming out of the half, White went on a run, outscoring Green, 14-4. The freshmen gave the veterans a run for their money as Naymick hit two layups to pull the White team within seven points while Cotton's three pointer with 16 minutes remaining pulled the White team within four. Brown's three-point bucket made the score 65-67.
With the more experienced Spartans on the Green side of the ball, they held through the pressure, extending their lead as Davis sunk the second of two free throws and then made a steal for a dunk on the fastbreak. Torbert's dunk followed Davis. Another Davis dunk ensued and the Green team had the 13-point lead it needed for the eventual 109-96 victory.
Davis finished the game with 27 points and 17 rebounds. Ager led all scorers with a combined 34 points. Torbert finished with 25 points, shooting 11-of-16 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from three-point range.
"We had a lot of guys that played well today and that was very encouraging," added Izzo. "Chris Hill and Rashi Johnson played although they were nursing injuries from practice. Paul Davis missed some practice time this week, but he played great.
"It was a big plus for Kelvin Torbert to play well today. Confidence is so important and it was nice to see him make a lot of shots. He showed he can be a dangerous player because he can score from so many different places on the floor. I'm really happy for him because nobody has worked harder than he has."
Michigan State begins the exhibition portion of its schedule Nov. 2 against Magic Johnson and the Harlem Globetrotters at 2:30 p.m. at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich.
