In its purest form, basketball is a team game, and so it may be a little impolitic, if not downright selfish, for a player to emphasize his own individual needs. Not, however, when it’s the NCAA Tournament and the player in question is possibly facing the final game of his career.
“Oh, I say that, don’t think I don’t,” Michigan State senior guard Drew Neitzel said, proving that leadership can come in many different forms.
One of just two seniors on the team, Neitzel’s guiding hand usually is the one that releases his silky jump shot. But that wasn’t the case Thursday in the Spartans’ 72-61 opening-round win over Temple at the Pepsi Center. The lefty bomber, who was a coaches’ first-team all-Big Ten selection, was 2-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range, where he made 40 percent of his attempts during the season.
When Neitzel struggles, it usually results in similar problems for his team. That didn’t happen against the Owls because of the efforts of some of Michigan State’s younger players. Sophomore forward Raymar Morgan scored a team- high 15 points. Freshman Chris Allen added 12 and classmate Kalin Lucas had eight points and seven assists. Temple, meanwhile, had no answer for MSU’s rugged defense.
All of which prompted Neitzel to say something else to the team afterward. Thanks.
“They picked it up for me,” he said. “I didn’t have the best day offensively. I appreciate what they did, giving me another chance to redeem myself Saturday and hopefully lead this team into the Sweet 16.”
Both Neitzel and his coach, Tom Izzo, spoke Thursday of the “one-and-done” nature of the tournament. You never know when you’ll get another shot. Except, perhaps, at Michigan State, which is making its 11th consecutive appearance in the NCAAs, one of only five schools that can make that claim. Given the Spartans’ youth, it’s probably safe to assume the streak will continue for at least a few more years.
That may not be true for Oral Roberts, which was thoroughly outclassed by Pittsburgh 82-63 and had four seniors play their final game.
“We just lost our focus, man, our toughness,” said one of those departing seniors, Moses Ehambe, of the 18-0 Pitt run that essentially ended the game in the first half.
Added teammate Andre Hardy: “They sort of hit you in the mouth, and you got to, you know, wipe the blood out of your mouth, hit them back — and we didn’t punch them back at all.”
One of two freshmen on the team, Hardy said after the loss that his immediate focus was “making sure all my guys next year are working hard to get back to this point again and to be ready for this situation.”
This was the third consecutive tournament appearance for Oral Roberts, but even with the majority of the squad returning, there’s no guarantee that a fourth will happen next season.
As a freshman, Neitzel started on a Spartans team that went to the Final Four; the following season, Michigan State lost in the first round to George Mason, which went on a Cinderella ride to the national semifinals.
For many, that capriciousness is part of the charm of March Madness, but not for the players. And, although he has more to lose this season than almost anyone else on the roster, that was something Neitzel said he tried to impress upon his younger teammates Thursday.
“I’m trying to use my experiences to help these guys out,” he said. “I think we kind of take it for granted in this program, that we think we just get to play in the tournament every year, but that’s not true. It’s not every day that you get this chance; I’m trying to get through to the guys that we have to take advantage of it.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
