For a variety of reasons, there a celebratory mood inside the Jack Breslin Student Events Center on Monday night.
The Michigan State Spartans were able to shake off a slow start and pull away from a scrappy Oakland squad by a final score of 79-62. In doing so, the Spartans were able to build on Saturday's huge win over the No. 6 Baylor Bears in Detroit's Little Caesar's Arena.
The game itself was also celebration of college basketball in the state of Michigan which pitted the current longest tenured coach in all of college basketball (Oakland's Greg Kampe in his 39th season) against the third longest tenured coach (Michigan State's Tom Izzo in his 28th season).
But the biggest celebration of the night was reserved for the Spartans' senior guard Tyson Walker, who scored his 1,000th point in a Michigan State uniform with a baseline catch-and-shoot baseline jumper midway through the second half.
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Walker became the 54th player to reach this milestone in Michigan State history and the 24th fastest, having reach the millennium mark in a little over two years. Head coach Tom Izzo surprised by Walker's position on this list.
"I though that it would be even higher than that," Izzo joked. "They didn't guard anybody back in (former Spartan coach) Jud's (Heathcote) days maybe."
Izzo took several minutes in the press conference to reflect on the journey that Tyson Walker has made since he arrived on campus. He said that Walker is a "special guy" who reminds him of former Spartan Gary Harris. Izzo added that Walker has been "a treat" to coach.
Coach Izzo even started to reminisce about his recruitment of Walker when he rising junior in the transfer portal after spending two year at Northeastern University.
"I remember sitting at breakfast with his (Walker's) dad," Izzo recalled. "His dad said 'he can score it. He can can guard it, and one thing he's going to do is he's going to do what you tell him. Don't check his apartment to make sure his bed is made. It will be made. Don't pick him up for class. He'll get to class'. It's kind of funny, but I'm serious. That's what he said to me, and we kind of fell in love with him right then."
"I am just happy for him," Coach Izzo continued "It's nice to see a guy live his dream."
As for Walker himself, he admitted in locker room after the game that the 1,000-point milestone was on his mind.
"I knew I was pretty close," Walker said. "I was just trying to score the ball sometimes, you know, just playing the game. I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself. I did that last year."
Once Walker hit the jumper that put him over the top, he said that he appreciated the ovation from the crowd even if he did appear to be a bit stoic.
"I'm just not that much of an emotional guy," he said. "I just keep a straight face. It was pretty cool, though."
Following his recognition by the home crowd, Walker was able to share a moment with Coach Izzo on the sidelines.
"He just told me that it was a special moment and that he's proud of me" Walker said of Izzo. "It is a big accomplishment, especially being here. A lot of good players have come through and not got 1,000 (points). So it's just being a way to be remembered."
Despite all the praise, Coach Izzo feels like there are still a few areas where Walker can grow to become an even more complete player.
"If I have a negative, (it's something) I tell him it every day," Izzo said. "I tell him 'you got to take over you got to talk to people more. You've got to help me to help us to help you.'"
When asked about Izzo's comment, Walker acknowledged that this was an area that he was continuing to work on.
"Yeah, I do talk, but not as much he wants," Walker said. "I try to play it off by just smiling, so he thinks I'm talking, but I'm definitely trying to talk a little more. It's been good though. He's been he's been challenging me with that."
Beating the zone
Michigan State never trailed on Monday night against Oakland, but the Grizzlies did not make things easy. Oakland deployed a tricky zone defense that seemed to confuse the Spartans in the early going, leading to hesitation, a lack of rhythm, and missed shots. Oakland trailed by only single digits for all but a few seconds of the first half.
While Tyson Walker finished the game with 14 points, he had only two points at half time. This was due in large part to the concerted effort made by the Grizzlies to take him away.
"Walker was not going to beat us," said Oakland coach Greg Kampe. In the first half at least, that strategy was effective.
"It was weird, especially how they just shaded towards me in the first half," Walker said of the Oakland defense. "But then we kind of figured it out in the second half and got some open shots. It's just something you gotta get used to. No one really plays a zone like that."
Walker openly admitted that the first half was a struggle offensively.
"I came to the bench during the the first time and I was a little frustrated," Walker said. "They just weren't leaving me. But stuff like that is going to happen. I have to be able to figure out ways to score."
Spartan point guard A.J. Hoggard echoed Walker's comments about Oakland's defense and mentioned that Coach Izzo warned his players that Coach Kampe's team is always one of the toughest teams on the schedule to prepare for.
"It was definitely hard," Hoggard said. "Regardless of how much time you have to prepare, it is something they do really well... we had to prepare and to lock in mentally and just know that the zone was going to be there and to attack it and to attack the seams."
Hoggard went on to elaborate on what changed in the second half that allowed the Spartans to have more success.
"We had to be more aggressive," he said. "Not holding the ball. Swinging the ball. Moving the ball. Having to move around and not just be stationary and just being big in their zone. So we had to find ways to get them moving and to get their defense shifting and then we attacked the open gaps."
Junior guard Jaden Akins explained the way the Spartans were will able to eventually beat the Oakland zone as follows.
"We just had to attack it and not let it attack us," Akins said. "We found a way to get some good shots, especially in the second half."
Another major factor in jump starting the Spartan offense was highlighted be a sequence in the final two minutes of the first half when Michigan State scored on the fast break on three straight possessions. In the blink of an eye, the lead increased from just five to 11 points thanks to layups by Walker and Holloman and a dunk from Akins.
A key catalyst to the Spartan fast break comes down to the simple fundamental skill of rebounding.
The play of Michigan State's trio of big men was also a notable positive in Monday night's win. Senior Mady Sissoko, sophomore Carson Cooper, and freshman Xavier Booker combined for 19 points and 17 rebounds against Oakland.
"I think what helped us for sure was when I could get a clean rebound and we could run and they couldn't get set up in their zone" Cooper said following the game. "Ultimately, if they can't get set in their defense then that's the best way to play offense."
The Spartan centers drew criticism from their coaches following the losses to Wisconsin and Nebraska. In the last two wins, the big men have responded.
"I think for us it is more mental," Cooper explained. "Coach would get down on us when we're having bad days, but also giving us kudos when we were having good days. Everything came together and we had good practices leading up to (the Baylor game). I think that's something that can get the snowball rolling for us, and I think that today is something that we build off too."
"I think we're developing confidence," Cooper continued. "We are all playing well. We're all playing carefree. I mean, not carefree, that's probably not the right word. We're all playing like a collective and like a team that works together to get where we are now. I think the big thing is we're just having fun. So at the end of the day that's going to be really helpful for us."
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