INDIANAPOLIS — If there were any doubts about the emphasis Michigan State coach Tom Izzo places on battling for rebounds, consider that one of his favorite teaching tools is called the “War Drill.”
On occasion, players are issued football helmets and shoulder pads.
“It gets physical. It gets rough,” Michigan State senior forward Goran Suton said Thursday before a 50-minute practice in preparation for today’s Midwest Regional semifinal between the No. 2-seeded Spartans and No. 3 Kansas.
“It’s one drill I used to like my first two years (at MSU),” added the 6-foot-10, 245-pound Suton. “I don’t like it much anymore.”
Bumps and bruises from the War Drill tend to add up. As in a basketball game, there are five players on a side — five under the basket, five outside the 3-point line. The mission for the team on the perimeter is to bully inside for an offensive rebound. Whatever it takes.
“The ball goes up. The guys on the inside try to box the other guys out,” Suton said, explaining it to reporters with a pained expression on his face. “It’s one drill that works.”
In what seems to be an annual occurrence, Michigan State leads the nation in rebounding margin (plus-10.1 per game). Said Kansas coach Bill Self: “Tom (Izzo) over time has done the best job in America of coaching rebounding.”
Led by 6-11 Cole Aldrich, Kansas isn’t shabby in the paint, either, in a tie for 10th (plus-7.2). Self believes it is imperative that the Jayhawks hold their own on the boards today in order to advance.
In Michigan State’s 75-62 home win over Kansas on Jan. 10, the Spartans outrebounded KU by 11. It wasn’t just a case of Kansas players not boxing out, Self said.
“The other part is having guys that are relentless on the glass, not allowing yourself to get blocked out, and hitting somebody, going after every ball with two hands,” Self explained.
Hitting somebody?
“You can’t let balls just come to you, you have to go attack the ball,” Self said. “You’ve got to hit, and go get, as opposed to hit and wait. A lot of rebounding is fundamental. Most of it is want-to, though.”
Sounds like both teams had better bring extra ice packs and heat pads tonight.
“The key over the last few days (in practice) has been to go after the boards hard,” said Aldrich, who averages a double-double of 14.8 points and 11 rebounds. “They really hit us hard when we played them in East Lansing.”
Izzo said he began emphasizing the importance of rebounding during his first season as a head coach at MSU in 1995-96 because his team shot so poorly. After losing to North Carolina and to a Steve Nash-led Santa Clara team, Izzo moved his power forward to small forward and told the team that to rebound is golden. “I said the only way we can win is to make the missed shot our best offense,” Izzo recalled.
In MSU’s next game, the Spartans had 24 offensive rebounds against Arkansas. And won.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
