In East Lansing, 2023 is off to a good start. The Michigan State Spartans resumed Big Ten play on Tuesday night with a comfortable win over Nebraska by a score of 74 to 56. Following the game, Coach Izzo and a few of his players talked to the media about the game and what comes next.
In general, Coach Izzo seemed quite happy with the performance of his team.
"Well, I thought that was the best first half of basketball we have played in a while," Izzo said to open the press conference.
Coach Izzo said that he was worried about this game but that his team moved the ball well (24 assists on 31 made shots), shot it well (48 % overall), avoided turnovers (only nine total), and rebounded the ball well (46 to 29).
"We hurt them bad on the boards, which we haven't done in a while," Izzo said.
"We worked together as a team tonight," Izzo said, "I was pleased. Our centers played good. Our guards played pretty good. Everybody played pretty well. That's why you win by 20. Otherwise, you don't especially against good team, and I think that (Nebraska) is a good team."
Coach Izzo summed up his positive thoughts on the game with the following statement.
"I think the ceiling is a lot higher than it was a couple of weeks ago," Izzo said.
Not quite perfection yet
But at the same time, Coach Izzo still found a few things to criticize and a few areas where improvement needs to happen
"I'm not confident in this team yet," Izzo said. "We had one good game. We played decent these last couple of games, but the competition hasn't been the same as it was (at the beginning of the season)."
Coach Izzo also admitted that he was a little disappointed in the way that his team came out in the second half against the Corn Huskers.
"I thought there were a lot of great things," Izzo said. "But that stretch in the second half made me realize we're still got some immaturity left in us."
In order to address this, Coach Izzo would still like to see a bit more leadership from his point guard, A.J. Hoggard.
"He's (A.J.) got to be the guy," Izzo said. "Mateen (Cleeves) would have strangled a couple of guys. (A.J. needs to) get to that point. But you've got to hold yourself accountable first."
Coach also thinks that freshman big man Jaxon Kohler has more to give.
"He's (Kohler) definitely made some progress," Izzo said. "He is getting in better shape, but he still gets tired. He is starting to feel more comfortable offensively, which he really is a good offensive player, and he is starting to do a few things defensively."
But Coach Izzo said that he specifically thinks that Kohler can improve his rebounding numbers significantly.
"He's a very good rebounder," Izzo said. "He got (only) three tonight but he has a knack for getting rebounds even though he doesn't jump high."
Jaxon Kohler: Jump Shooter?
On Tuesday, it was primarily Jaxon Kohler's offense that was on display. He scored 10 points on five-for-five shooting. Following the game, Kohler talked about his experience as a freshman being thrown into the fire of big-time college basketball.
"Back in November, it was all just happening so fast," Kohler said. "We were just in a lot of good games, and it was just a lot of stuff. It all just kind of collapsed on me. I was rushing it a little bit. I was just trying to find my place and my pace and tempo."
After two full months of action, Kohler seems to be settling in and reflecting on his experiences and where he is now as a player.
"December was a good time to do a little self-reflection," Kohler said.
"It's a new year and I just wanted to change some things about what I was contributing to the team," Kohler continued. "The first thing was passion. (I wanted to play with) more energy and more passion. I didn't want to play scared, not that I was, but I wanted to be one of those guys that tries to get all of the other guys going."
On Tuesday night, for the first time in his career as a Spartan, Kohler showed that his range extends beyond just a few feet from the basket.
"I've got good thing going with my mid-range (game) and I feel like it's just something that I haven't really shown yet," Kohler said, "Coach gives me the green light but in games I haven't been able to do it. Going into this game, I wanted to be a little more aggressive. If I have the shot, don't be afraid to take it. Today, they all felt good and they all went in."
Malik Hall on the Mend.
One of, if not the, key factors moving forward for the Spartans is the health and play of senior forward Malik Hall. He played in his second straight game Tuesday night after missing eight games with a foot injury.
Hall saw his time on the floor increase from 12 minutes to 19 minutes. He scored just five points on two-of-six shooting and grabbed four rebounds, but his presence was certainly felt by the coaches and his teammates.
"Malik just brings a calmness to our team," Izzo said. "He wasn't great, but I just feel comfortable when he's in there."
Malik's teammate Joey Hauser agrees.
"He (Hall) has a presence," Hauser said in the locker room after the game. "He is always consistent. He can play any position. He is a smart player. He can go into the post. He can shoot threes. He can drive the ball. He makes the right plays, and having a guy like him out there just brings an easiness to the game or just a calmness out there."
Hall is still not quite at 100% and Coach Izzo is being patient, but he also sees good things on the horizon.
"I don't think that Malik is anywhere near the guy that he is going to be," Izzo said. "As he gets more comfortable, I think he's going to be able to hurt some people because he can play with so many different positions... He didn't shoot as well tonight, but I love the direction he's headed. I just wish I could speed up the process."
Are the Spartans Contenders?
As the Spartans round into form, the question was floated as to whether coach Izzo thought that Michigan State could challenge for the Big Ten title. He honestly did not really answer the question, but he did point out two things.
First, he seemed concerned about the unbalanced Big Ten schedule where each team will also play seven of the 13 conference opponents both at home and away.
"Somebody's going to get a tremendous advantage," Coach Izzo said. "Somebody's going to get a tremendous disadvantage, and a bunch of teams are going to be in the middle."
If Coach Izzo were a subscriber and had read our recent Hoops Analysis, he would know that Michigan State does have one of the most challenging conference schedules, but that this schedule disadvantage is only worth about one game overall.
Second, Coach Izzo pointed out that while there may not be a super-elite team in the conference this year, the bottom of the Big Ten seems much stronger than usual.
"I think this league is the deepest it's been in 15 years," Izzo said. "I didn't say the best...I think what happens is the bottom (of the conference) is really good. But I don't think the top other than Purdue has shown to be really, really good."
But when Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg was asked about Michigan State's chances at a Big Ten title, he seemed more optimistic than Coach Izzo.
"(Michigan State) is a very versatile team, especially with Malik back in the lineup now" Coach Hoiberg said. "They're able to play a lot of different combinations... They've got a lot of guys that can contribute.
"The way they shot the ball in the first half, if they can shoot the ball like that, absolutely," Hoiberg continued. "They got a ton of experience. They got one of the greatest coaches ever to step foot on the sidelines, and they're always going to go out there and play hard.... Yeah absolutely, they'll be right there at the end."
Next Up: Michigan
But first things first. With the Nebraska game now in the rear-view mirror, the Michigan Wolverines are on the clock. But Izzo was not quite ready to talk about the rivals from Ann Arbor just yet. When asked about that team down the road, Coach Izzo checked his watch.
"What time is it?” Izzo asked. “I’ll talk about Michigan after midnight. If someone wants to call me, I’ll talk about Michigan then. But I’m going to enjoy this win. I’m not going to talk about Michigan."
But when Coach Izzo was asked about his team's schedule for the remainder of the week, his eyes did light up, especially since classes do not resume in East Lansing for another week.
"No school?" Izzo said. "(We're going to) practice, practice, practice. We're going to get our team ready to play... Malik will not practice every day. We'll take it easy on him. We won't be beating the hell out of our guys, but we'll be doing more film work. We spend a lot more time on those things. I think we'll take advantage by really cutting up this film. What do we do right? What did we do wrong? And then cutting up some of our opponents (film)."
Joey Hauser had a very similar idea about what the remainder of the week would involve.
"It will be a lot of scout, I know that," Hauser said. "Especially (because we're) playing Michigan. It's a game that always means more. Coach is going to be really in tune to what they're doing and making sure that we know everything they're doing."
Michigan State takes on the Michigan Wolverines this coming Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Breslin Center in the first of two games this season. The game will be televised on Fox.
Do you have thoughts on what was said in the post-game press conference? Talk about it now on the Breslin Banners Message Board.
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