Michigan State 2006 Season | Team Page

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Special Athlon offer for SI.com readers The Lowdown Head Coach: Tom Izzo 2006-07 Record (Big Ten): 23–12 (8–8) Key Loss: G Maurice Joseph (5.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg) Postseason: NCAA: Defeated Marquette 61–49, lost to North Carolina 81–67 in the second round Returning Players No. Player. Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG APG 22 Isaiah Dahlman G 6'6" So. 3.7 1.8 1.2 41 Marquise Gray F 6'8" Jr. 6.8 5.5 0.5 00 Idong Ibok C 6'11" Jr. 2.0 2.3 0.1 2 Raymar Morgan F 6'7" So. 11.7 5.2 0.8 34 Drew Naymick C 6'10" Sr. 3.7 3.9 0.5 11 Drew Neitzel G 6'0" Sr. 18.1 2.8 4.3 14 Goran Suton C 6'10" Jr. 9.3 6.7 2.4 5 Travis Walton G 6'2" Jr. 6.4 2.6 5.5 Fresh Faces No. Player Pos. Ht.. Yr. School - Chris Allen G 6'3" Fr. Lawrenceville, GA/Meadowcreek 40 Tom Herzog C 7'0" Fr. Flint, MI/Redshirt 2006-07 - Kalin Lucas G 6'0" Fr. Sterling Heights, MI/Orchard Lake St. Mary’s - Durrell Summers G 6'5" Fr. Detroit, MI/Redford Covenant Christian - Austin Thornton F 6'5" Fr. Sand Lake, MI/Cedar Springs Herzog is thin and still somewhat awkward but a gym rat and improving rapidly. Lucas, a big-time talent, is the fastest guard Tom Izzo has ever signed. He has handle and strength to capitalize on terrific burst, plus good mechanics on the pull-up jumper. Summers is an athletic finisher who must sharpen his medium-range game. Allen is a range shooter with excellent athleticism, a future go-to scorer. Thornton is a walk-on who turned down 15 D-I offers, mostly from mid-majors. To order your 2007 Athlon Sports annual and receive $1 off plus free shipping courtesy of SI.com, click here.

Michigan State should be back in contention for a fifth trip to the Final Four under Tom Izzo. His fifth Big Ten title is also in the crosshairs. When Izzo has depth, athleticism and experience in the backcourt, he can navigate the month of March as well as anyone. He’ll have those components cycling up for him this year.

“I think we have a chance to be a very good team,” says Izzo. “It is going to be determined by four things: No. 1 is how we handle the success of our returning players; how our big guys improved during the offseason; how our freshmen fit in, and whether we have the same commitment to our defense, the same chemistry, camaraderie. If those things take hold, we could go from a good team to a real good team to a great team.”

Michigan State extended its streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to 10 last season. In the process, Izzo rebuilt the defensive ethic and floor burn style of basketball that had been absent the previous year. This year, there will be more depth, more floor burns, a faster pace and more wins.

FRONTCOURT

Michigan State has some good, shot-swatting goalies in the paint. The Spartans have four big men who are 6'10" or taller, plus athletic 6'8" rim grabber Marquise Gray. They can all move their feet and elevate, and they excel at the Izzo school of responsible and physical interior defense. The big men were the cornerstones of one of the best defensive teams in school history a year ago. They’re all back, more mature and confident.

Drew Naymick and Gray enjoyed healthy offseasons for the first time in their college careers. Their ability to collect garbage and finish has improved. Naymick is a big-time defender who led the team with 55 blocks.

Euro-skilled Goran Suton had five double-doubles as a sophomore. Coaches want more urgency from him, and he’ll have to provide it if he wants to keep his minutes. Competition in practice will sharpen everyone.

Idong Ibok has an enormous wingspan and can alter a game as a middle reliever on defense.

The Spartans need a consistent scoring threat to emerge in the post. They’ve all shown flashes. Gray and Suton are the most capable, while Tom Herzog is the future.

BACKCOURT

Ultra-tough point guard Travis Walton and go-to scorer Drew Neitzel will no longer have to play obscene numbers of minutes now that freshmen Kalin Lucas and Chris Allen are available off the bench.

“Now we will be able to run more, and play defense harder because fatigue and foul trouble won’t be at the front of our minds anymore,” Izzo says. “We wore down because of the minutes last year, especially Drew.”

Walton rules the locker room and is a hit man on defense. If he develops a jump shot and decreases the turnovers, he will become an all-time Izzo favorite.

Neitzel is lethal with the catch-and-shoot from good range, and he can create his own shot with nifty step-back moves and ball-handling. This gives him the rare potential on any night to get hot and stay hot even after defenses sell out to stop him. Neitzel has a point guard background and can make defenses pay with the pass when they leave windows open for teammates. He’s also a capable defender.

Raymar Morgan, who played for the USA Under-19 team during the summer, has power forward size at the 3, but plenty of quickness. He has the potential to rebound and defend as well as anyone Izzo has ever had at the position. When he moves to the 4, MSU loses no toughness and gains a lot of speed.

Sky-walking freshman Durrell Summers and skilled sophomore Isaiah Dahlman have high-end talent as reserves at either wing.

FINAL ANALYSIS

When Izzo has enough reserves on the bench to demand maximum effort on the break, on the boards and on defense, that’s when his Spartans can cause major problems. A return to 94 feet of man-to-man defense, which Izzo employed in the 2005 run to the Final Four, is a possibility. “We want to run, and tire out some of our guys and hopefully tire out the opposition in the process,” Izzo says.

It will take a couple of months for the freshmen to get programmed on proper transition sprinting and defensive responsibility, but conditions are ripe for Izzo’s blue-collar championship assembly line to produce again this year.