Men's Basketball Opens Exhibition Play In Grand Rapids
10/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 31, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Michigan State
vs. Grand Valley State
November 1, 2006
7 p.m. EST
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Van Andel Arena
Radio: Spartan Sports Network - Will Tieman (Play by Play), Gus Ganakas (Color). Flagship - WJIM 1240 AM
MSU Game Notes
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Opening Tip - Michigan State opens exhibition play for the 2006-07 season with a game against Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids at Van Andel Arena. The Spartans will face a Lakers squad that returns six of their top seven scorers from a No. 4-ranked team in 2005-06. This is the second-straight year MSU has played at Van Andel, as it defeated Arkansas-Little Rock last December behind some solid play from Grand Rapids native Drew Neitzel.
Scouting The Lakers - Grand Valley State returns four starters from its 2005-06 squad that posted a 27-4 mark and was ranked No. 4 in the final DII Basketball Coaches poll. The Lakers captured both the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. In addition, the Lakers return six of their seven top scorers and seven players that averaged 14 minutes of game action or more. Last season, the Lakers shot better from 3-point range (.384) than their opponents shot from the field (.380). GVSU returns its leading scorer (Jason Jamerson - 13.4 ppg) and leading rebounder (Callistus Eziukwu - 6.5 rpg) from last season.
MSU In Van Andel - On Dec. 3, 2005, Michigan State defeated Arkansas-Little Rock in Van Andel Arena, 72-67. The Spartans were sluggish throughout the game and found themselves in a tie game at the half, 30-30. Paul Davis led the Spartans with 23 points, while Maurice Ager added 22. Drew Neitzel had a strong game, recording nine points, nine assists and just one turnover.
Spartans Vs. The Lakers - Michigan State and Grand Valley State met in an exhibition contest on Nov. 10, 2004, with the Spartans claiming a 77-62 victory. MSU out-scored GVSU, 44-21, in the first half, but the Lakers won the second half, 41-33. Shannon Brown scored led all scorers with 16 points. Current Spartan Drew Neitzel scored five points in 17 minutes in his first action in an MSU jersey. Drew Naymick scored six points, all from the foul line. The Lakers' 2006-07 squad features seven players that played at the Breslin Center in 2004. Callistus Eziukwu scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and Jason Jamerson led the Lakers with 10 points, while Mike Hall and Brian Arnold added nine.
West Michigan Spartans - Two-fifths of Michigan State's possible starting lineup hail from the west side of Michigan. Grand Rapids native Drew Neitzel is the leader of the young Spartans. He is MSU's leading returning scorer, having averaged 8.3 points per game last season. Neitzel also tied for the Big Ten lead in assists in conference games, dishing out 5.56 helpers per contest, while leading the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio. At Wyoming Park High School, Neitzel was the 2004 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award winner, leading the Vikings to the Class B state semifinals, averaging 33.0 points and 9.2 assists. He finished his prep career ranked second in career assists (692) and fifth in career points (2,462) in Michigan high school history. Muskegon native Drew Naymick is in his redshirt junior season. A two-time recipient of MSU's Scholar-Athlete Award, he started the first seven games last season before sitting out the rest of the year to allow a shoulder injury to heal. As a senior at North Muskegon High School, Naymick averaged 18 points and 10.7 rebounds to earn Detroit Free Press Dream Team honors, while leading the Norsemen to a berth in the Class C state quarterfinals. He is the all-time leading shot-blocker in Michigan high school history with 527 rejections.
A Familiar Situation - While much is made of Michigan State losing three starters to the 2006 NBA Draft, it's encouraging to know that the Spartans are not in an unfamiliar setting. On the stat sheet, MSU returns just 22.4 percent of their points, 30.8 percent of their rebounds, and 40.5 percent of their minutes from last year's team. By comparison, the 2001-02 team returned just 19.0 percent of the points, 18.0 percent of the rebounds and 26.3 percent of the minutes from the 2001 team that won the Big Ten and advanced to the Final Four. In 2002, the Spartans finished just one game out of first place and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The key was that players stepped up their level of performance: Marcus Taylor went from averaging 7.4 points to being a first-team all-league selection, and Adam Ballinger increased his scoring average from 1.9 ppg to 11.2, securing third-team All-Big Ten accolades.
Backcourt Leadership - Michigan State will be led in 2006-07 by the backcourt duo of Drew Neitzel and Travis Walton, having been voted co-captains by their teammates. Neitzel is MSU's leading returning scorer, having averaged 8.3 points per game last season. He also led the Big Ten in assists in conference games, dishing out 5.56 helpers per contest. Although just a sophomore, Walton is an unquestioned leader on the Spartan squad. He averaged just 1.8 points and 2.4 assists last year, but in just under 20 minutes per game, he provided good defense and solid leadership. Walton becomes the third sophomore captain under head coach Tom Izzo, joining Antonio Smith in 1996-97 and Mateen Cleaves in 1997-98.
Winning Freshmen - If there is one common trait for freshmen Isaiah Dahlman, Tom Herzog and Raymar Morgan, it is that they are all winners. Over the last two years, the trio posted a combined mark of 152-8 with their high school teams, winning a combined four state championships. Dahlman was 95-4 over the last three years, including winning 65-straight games at one point, while Braham Area won three-consecutive Minnesota 2A state championships. Morgan led Canton McKinley to back-to-back Ohio Division 1 state championships, becoming the first school to win two straight crowns in Ohio's largest division since 1974. Herzog was 37-3 over the last two seasons, winning a district championship in 2005.
Neitzel On Cousy List - Junior point guard Drew Neitzel is one of 36 Division I candidates for the 2007 Bob Cousy Award. Presented annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the award recognizes the top collegiate point guard participating in NCAA Divisions I, II and III. As a sophomore, Neitzel ranked third in the Big Ten in overall assists (5.56 apg) and tied for the conference lead in league games (5.56 apg). Additionally, he led the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.78). The selection committee is comprised of college basketball experts including media members, former coaches and players. Candidates are evaluated on their ability to maximize their team's collective potential, their leadership, their core basketball skills and overall team acheivement. Wisconsin's Kammron Taylor is the only other Big Ten player on the list, which also includes two Division II and one Division III candidates.
Looking For No. 10 - Last year, Michigan State made a ninth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. It is the longest current streak among Big Ten schools and fifth longest in the nation. Only Arizona (22), Kansas (17), Kentucky (15) and Duke (11) have longer current streaks.
Playing For A Good Cause - Michigan State will be tested early as it participates in the 2006 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefitting Coaches Vs. Cancer. The Spartans will open with a pair of home games as they host Brown, Central Michigan and Youngstown State in one of four pods on Nov. 8-9. If MSU wins two games, it will advance to New York Nov. 16-17, where possible opponents include Maryland, St. John's and Texas. With the opening game against Brown on Nov. 8, MSU will be playing the earliest season opener in the program's history.
Tough Competition - Michigan State will play nine teams that appeared in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, including five league foes (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State and Wisconsin) and four non-conference teams (Belmont, Boston College, Bradley and Texas). In addition, five other opponents appeared in the 2006 NIT (BYU, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State), making it likely that 20 of the Spartans' 31 regular-season games will be against team that played in the 2006 postseason. For comparison, Michigan State played eight 2005 NCAA Tournament teams last season, six 2004 NCAA Tournament teams in 2004-05 and 10 2003 NCAA Tournament teams in 2003-04, a year which featured one of the most difficult schedules in recent college basketball history.
Spartans On TV - Michigan State will have a minimum of 24 games televised in 2006-07, including at least 12 on national television networks (ESPN - 6, CBS - 3, ESPN2 - 2, ESPNU - 1). In addition, if MSU advances to the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals in New York, two more games will be carried on ESPN2. Plus, the final two regular-season games could be picked up by national networks. Michigan State has appeared on CBS 71 times and on ESPN and ESPN2 91 times since 1997-98. Over the last nine years, MSU has averaged 29 televised games per year, including 18 per season on national television networks.
Spartans In The NBA - Nine former Spartans are currently on NBA rosters as the teams open fall camp. They include Maurice Ager (Dallas Mavericks), Alan Anderson (Charlotte Bobcats), Charlie Bell (Milwaukee Bucks), Shannon Brown (Cleveland Cavaliers), Paul Davis (Los Angeles Clippers), Morris Peterson (Toronto Raptors), Zach Randolph (Portland Trail Blazers), Jason Richardson (Golden State Warriors) and Eric Snow (Cleveland Cavaliers). The nine active players gives MSU the most of any Big Ten school and ranks tied for seventh in the nation behind UConn (15), North Carolina (14), Duke (14), Kentucky (11), Arizona (11) and UCLA (11). Maryland also has nine active players. (As of Oct. 9, 2006)
Experience In The Front Court - While Drew Neitzel is the only full-time returning starter for Michigan State, there are three Spartans in the frontcourt that gained starting experience in 2005-06, combining for 22 starts. Red-shirt junior Drew Naymick started the first seven games of the season before a shoulder injury forced him to miss the rest of the year. Red-shirt sophomore Marquise Gray started nine contests as an athletic power forward, while classmate Goran Suton used his wide array of skills to earn the starting job in six games, including all four postseason contests.
Spartans In The NBA Draft - With three Spartans selected in the 2006 NBA Draft, Michigan State has had 10 players drafted in the last seven drafts, ranking behind only Connecticut (11) and Duke (11). With Maurice Ager and Shannon Brown being selected in the first round, the Spartans have produced six first rounders in the last seven years, ranking behind only Connecticut (8) and Duke (7) and tied with North Carolina.
