A-TOWN ON SPARTAN FOOTBALL

You can follow ATownAndDown at M-Live HERE

and on Twitter @TheATownAndDown

See Part 1 of this interview HERE.

See Part 2 of this interview HERE.

How do you think the quarterback position competition shook out this spring at MSU? How about UM?

I think Cook is MSU's QB and that is about the only position that is on stable ground in either program. For MSU's backup, I think Tyler O'Conner showed a lot. He made a few big throws and showed some ability to move the pocket and create with his legs. He showed some youthful mistakes and was inconsistent at times but with time he will be a solid option under center. Terry showed why he garnered the hype. Quick feet and a quick release looked pretty impressive. He too made some youthful mistakes including the hit he took from Cooper. He stepped up into the pocket nicely to avoid the pressure but he took his eye off where he was stepping. Should have bolted or gone down in that situation to avoid the big hit. In the end, I think O'Conner is the backup but Terry gets more playing time (as long as Cook stays healthy).

As for U of M, I didn't see their Spring Game but I have seen enough of the coverage to know that Gardner was not impressive. I also heard that Shane Morris was not overwhelming either this Spring. And actually the guy that caught most folks eye was true freshman Wilton Speight. In my opinion, Brady Hoke is coaching for his job at this point. If Gardner can't find the level of consistency that is needed to win some big games for U of M this year, I expect to see the QB carousel in full swing. You might even see him try to run with Speight at least to make the argument that he finally found his QB and if he can get one more year with Speight he will return U of M to the top of the B1G.

Is there any reason to believe that Damion Terry might not be patient enough to wait until Connor Cook graduates? How do you think Dantonio will keep him sharp, hungry and ready while he waits?

I think Damion Terry will be more than patient. To begin with when he committed to MSU back in April of 2012, he knew that Maxwell and Cook were on the roster and that Tyler O'Connor would be joining them that coming summer. It is not news to Terry that he isn't going to be the starter this year. That is not how MSU recruits guys and so he knew the score coming in. Second, we have seen some very mature quotes from Terry that he knows his place on the team. While he would love to be playing and wants to contribute, he doesn't strike me as a guy that is going to jump ship because his ego tells him he should be the starter. Finally, from what I have heard, Terry views O'Connor as his competition. I don't think a guy that sets his goal to be the back up this year as a guy that leaves because he isn't the starter.

As for playing time, I think you got to see some interesting things the coaches did with Terry during the Spring Game. Things that confused the defense. I don't know if you will see MSU opening up games with Terry running the ball, but I would not be surprised to see packages where Terry is in the game with and without Cook. Remember how many times we dialed up those stupid Wildcat packages last season. What if you had Terry taking those snaps instead of Langford.

Any word on what went down with Max Bullough? How do you think MSU and Max handled the aftermath of the suspension?

I am not going to speculate on what Max did. I believe whatever it was the punishment he endured was enough. The Bullough family is as close to football royalty as you can get in any program. For Max to miss out on the game that he did had to be ridiculously difficult on him. I am also not in the camp that thinks that Max owes the fans an explanation of what he did. In my opinion it doesn't matter if it was drugs, booze, PED's, a fight, missed a team meeting, violation of an undisclosed team rule, or whatever. Whatever it was, it warranted the suspension and its done. Anyone demanding an explanation has some kind of TMZ obsessed curiosity. Whatever he did should not change your opinion of the guy and what is done is done at this point.

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A-TOWN ON MSU BASKETBALL (Part 2) AND FB/BB RECRUITING

You can follow ATownAndDown at M-Live HERE

and on Twitter @TheATownAndDown

See Part 1 of this interview HERE.

Is it your understanding that the Branden Dawson hand-vs-table incident occurred during a coach/player team "intervention" aimed at getting Dawson to bring his game up during the first Michigan week?
I think Drew Sharp is the only reporter that is running with that version of the story and Sharp seems to think that stirring the pot is the best way to report (see his comments about MSU's football team last year). But regardless if the broken hand was because of comments by Dan Dakich, because of an "intervention" or something in the middle it makes little difference. BJ is an outstanding athlete who is a match-up nightmare for opponents. We saw what a motivated BJ could do to some solid competitors after he returned. With some more refining of his game and that chip on his shoulder, could he be the guy that has everyone chattering next season? I think he is pretty close to being able to shock a lot of people in college basketball and beyond, and this is a guy that wasn't exactly shabby last year.

What's your opinion of the way the (so-called) "new foul rules" impacted the college basketball season?
I think the new foul call rules created a ton of inconsistency in the game. Not only was their a great chasm between game to game, but even from half to half. I don't know how many times I saw a no-call thoughout the game that suddenly was getting called with a guy looking confused. I don't know how the final numbers played out but I didn't see a ton more scoring. And if they were hoping to make the play of the game smoother, it seemed like there was a lot of stoppage for ticky-tack fouls. There was one game where MSU's opponent fouled us 3 times in 30 seconds and nothing happened. That was basically 30 seconds of the game run off the clock with no action. Not exactly going to draw in the casual fan with that kind of play.

What is your take on MSU's recruiting in football and men's basketball?
I don't think much has changed in the area of recruiting. Both Izzo and Coach D seem pretty set in their ways of getting their guys and if those guys don't want to be in East Lansing, they are not going to go out of their way to "sell" a recruit on being here.

I have seen some comments regarding the football recruiting that Coach D is going after bigger names. I think it's more that the that the top-flight guys are starting to pay attention to MSU and listen to what the coaches have to say. They are bigger names, but they are still guys that fit the system that Coach D wants to run. And I doubt you are going to get a lot of guys getting sales pitches. Coach D is going to tell a guy where he sees him on this team and that he is going to have to work to get there. He will take a guy that wants to be here over a guy that might have a higher ceiling. I mean look at the lengths that McDowell went to. Do you think he wants to be a Spartan?

As for basketball, Coach Izzo wants guys that fit his system. Harris was a great scorer but he could also rebound and was a defensive presence on the court. I think a lot of people turned on Izzo a bit with not pulling the big name recruits that showed early interest in MSU, but I think Izzo wants guys that want to be here and part of the team, rather than be wined and dined with their egos getting stroked. Guys like Bess, Tum Tum, and Clark are guys that Izzo seems to love to coach. They are solid players that have a bit of a chip on their shoulder because they got overlooked a bit. With some polishing they can become a solid group. Even a guy from the 2015 class in Deyonta Davis seems to fit the Izzo model of a player and is showing that he can run with good competition with the numbers he is putting up at Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.

Overall, both Coach Izzo and Coach D have given fans very little to worry about in the guys they bring in. They seem to be able to win regardless of the general perception of the talent level and I think that has to do with they are always bringing in their guys.

See Part 1 of this interview HERE.


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A-TOWN ON SPARTAN BASKETBALL

You can follow ATownAndDown at M-Live HERE 

and on Twitter @TheATownAndDown

How will the loss of key players impact MSU and UM men's basketball comparatively over the next 1-2 years?

I don't think the loss of players will impact these teams too much in the near future. For MSU, you knew AP and Appling were gone and if you doubted that Harris was going, then you were kidding yourself. Izzo knew what he was going to be dealing with in 2014-15 and beyond. While we can sit here and debate holes in the team (because there is no debate that it's not as intimidating as last years squad) I think Izzo has a plan and has yet to truly disappoint us.

As for U of M, Beilein is no dummy and I would guess that he knew bringing in guys like GRIII and McGary might mean they would have short careers in Ann Arbor. With the way Stauskas came on this year, I would assume that Beilein saw the potential for that development and the potential that he would be gone too. With guys like Walton and Irvin going into the offseason where you see a lot of players take a big step and a guy like Chatman coming in, while U of M won't be terribly strong in the post, Beilein should be strong at key positions that his successful teams have been strong at.

Who do you see as early departure candidates for MSU and UM in the future?

At this point, I don't know if I can name anyone player that would leave early for the NBA for either team. I think both teams have a lot of solid basketball players on their team and any one of them can take a big step forward to the point they can't help but go pro. Freshman are nearly impossible to predict because none are really seen as one and doners. But then again, I don't think I would have said that Stauskas would leave at this time last year and that guy took a big enough step that he might be a lottery pick.

How many years will Tom Izzo remain as MSU Head Coach? (A-Town answered this question prior to recent reports of Tom Izzo remaining at MSU.)

Tom Izzo will turn 60 during next season. I think his future will take one of three potential paths.

The first is he will win another NCAA Championship and then his days at MSU will be numbered (either leave for the NBA or just won't have the drive to amp it back up soon after that). The second path would be that an NBA job comes along that is the "right situation" for him and he has to take his shot. The final path is that he takes the program on a course that he gains the most joy out of coaching and just hands over the reigns to someone else when he is done having fun. Its tough to see a time table on anyone of those scenarios.

I guess one could argue that he is on the third path right now with the way his recruiting class has gone this year and with guys like Trice and Valentine leading the team now. Any way it plays out, Izzo has been a great coach and an even better asset to MSU. Any day beyond today is a bonus if you ask me.

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Questions coming in future articles:

• Is it your understanding that the Branden Dawson hand-vs-table incident occurred during a coach/player team "intervention" aimed at getting Dawson to bring his game up during the first Michigan week?
• What's your opinion of the way the (so-called) "new foul rules" impacted the college basketball season?
• Any word on what went down with Max Bullough? How do you think MSU and Max handled the aftermath of the suspension?
• How do you think the quarterback position competition shook out this spring at MSU? How about UM?
• Is there any reason to believe that Damion Terry might not be patient enough to wait until Connor Cook graduates? How do you think Dantonio will keep him sharp, hungry and ready while he waits?
• What is your take on MSU's recruiting in football and men's basketball?

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SPARTAN BASKETBALL PROGRAMS TOP CONFERENCE STANDINGS FOR SEVEN YEARS OF LEAGUE PLAY

March Madness drives us to do crazy things. Like picking Creighton to make the Final Four on your bracket. Or rooting for a team you hate just because their win would improve your bracket standings. Or making picks based on the uniform colors of the team. Stuff like that.

Sometimes the crazy season of basketball compels us to seek out stats, more stats, and even more stats. We saturate our minds in hoops-stats for three days making up our brackets, and then what? Nothing but games to watch, no more stats to crunch.

Well, we've got the answer for you today! We have added up the B1G conference standings for both men's and women's basketball over the past seven regular seasons, and guess who sits at the top of the heap? The Michigan State Basketball programs have won more games than any other conference team in the last seven years of league competition.

2008-2014 Combined Regular Season Conference Standings

1. 170-74     MICHIGAN STATE*****
2. 162-82     OHIO STATE******
3. 151-93     PURDUE*
4. 134-110   WISCONSIN*
5.   54-48    NEBRASKA
6. 125-119   MICHIGAN**
7. 121-123   IOWA
8. 110-134   PENN STATE***
9. 107-137   MINNESOTA
10.   94-150   ILLINOIS
11.   93-151   INDIANA*
12.   72-172   NORTHWESTERN

*conference championships

The seven-year time-frame isn't arbitrary or "cherry-picking", but it's as far back as we can count with MSU on top of the composite league standings. We wanted you to know that Spartan success in basketball isn't just one team in one year (or two), but both programs combined over many years.

While Tom Izzo has been Head Coach for nearly two decades, this seven-year span neatly comprises the entirety of the "Suzy Merchant Era" at Michigan State. Merchant has proven to be the perfect complement to Izzo, as she understands her role and plays it to the hilt with class and dedication and teamwork.

This level of statistical dominance can't happen by luck or a short hot-streak by one team. Looking over the past seven years, you can see only one "down season" by the Spartan Men, and the Spartan Women have been consistently very good the whole time. This data is meaningful because the information-base is so broad that excellence rises to the top.

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SUMMER VACATION STARTS EARLY FOR DUKE DUO OF JABARI PARKER AND JOANNE McCALLIE

Two basketball folks who each turned thumbs-down on Michigan State have an open schedule right now thanks to a pair of Duke tournament losses. Jabari Parker and Joanne McCallie are polishing up their surfboards for the long vacation ahead. That's because both Duke basketball teams have already been knocked out of the NCAA tournament.

Parker is the one-and-done "can't miss" blue-chip five-star basketball recruit from Chicago who played Tom Izzo like a fiddle during his highly publicized recruitment two years ago. Do you remember that December day when Parker held the world in his hand for a few hours as he prepared his great announcement? Most experts had Parker coming to MSU, but when it was time to put on the hat, it was a happy day for Dick Vitale. Jabari Parker was going to Duke. Tom Izzo was heading to Plan B.

McCallie is the up-and-coming young coach who took the reins from two-decade veteran Karen Langeland right after the turn of the century to become Head Coach of the Spartan women's team. She cracked her whip and flapped her jaws and seemed to "walk the walk" as she led MSU to the conference championship, a Final Four, and even an appearance in the national championship game. That tee-shirt-making season impressed all of us here in Spartan Country, but even more those folks in Durham, and off went McCallie to her dream job (with the bigger paycheck).

McCallie left somewhat abruptly, as nobody saw the Duke job likely to open up at that time, and hubby John McCallie was processing his arrest for fighting cops at a Florida airport while wifey Joanne just may have been job-shopping. (Sort of like "Peyton Place" without all of the really juicy stuff.) So we were in a bit of a pickle when Suzy Merchant arrived.

And we felt we were hosed when Duke was assigned to the "MSU Pod" in 2009 as a #1-seed, waiting to play us if we could get by the #9, which we did. And when it came time to confront the old coach, our new coach led MSU to one of the most dramatic victories in the history of Spartan Basketball. When Duke got dumped five years ago in Breslin, we knew our real coach was here to stay.

Well, Joanne McCallie can get out the golf clubs now, as her Duke team took their #2-seed into a comfortable setting last weekend, with games on their home court against the #15-seed and the winner of #10-vs-#7. That last one proved too much for the Lady Blue Devils, as Depaul beat Duke in Cameron-Indoor Stadium to send McCallie off on summer vacation.

At least she didn't have to travel far on the trip home after the loss.

So two prominent basketball people, a young male all-star and a middle-aged female coach, both came up short this past weekend with the teams they chose over Michigan State. While the Duke women are back home for the off-season, the MSU women tip-off Tuesday night against North Carolina just down Tobacco Road. And while Jabari Parker has turned in his uniform for the year, his spurned non-teammates have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen to play top-seed Virginia on Friday night.

Maybe McCallie will drive over to the MSU-UNC game tomorrow night. She definitely has a rooting interest. (Then again, maybe not.)

Maybe Parker will travel up to the Big Apple to see the team that beat his team for the league title play the team that he didn't want to play with in the first place. (Or maybe not.)

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MSU GETS 6th "SWEET SIXTEEN" DURING "JOHN BEILEIN ERA"

Michigan State reached the Sweet Sixteen with two weekend wins in Spokane, Washington, giving Coach Tom Izzo 12 such milestones since 1998. The only coach ahead of Izzo on this list is Mike Krzyzewski.

But how does that compare to the (now) "great" John Beilein? The "Beilein Era" is seven years long. During those seven seasons, Beilein has made the Sweet Sixteen twice. He has also had two losing seasons and a first-round exit from the Big Dance. That makes four total NCAA invitations.

In the same seven-year period, the Spartans have made the Sweet Sixteen six times, as part of their 17-year consecutive tournament streak.

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MICHIGAN GETS AN EASY PATH

Speaking of UM, they sure have an easy road in the NCAA Tournament this year. They opened against a #15-seed, then played a #7-seed in the second-round. Their next opponent is a #11-seed, and there appears to be an excellent chance that they would play a #8-seed if they win on Friday.

To recap, that's #15, #7, #11, and (maybe) #8. Barely more difficult than the NIT teams the UM women are playing through right now.

Why mention this fact? Only because so many Michigan fans downplayed (or even downgraded) any past MSU tournament run during which the Spartans played low-seeds on the way to a Final Four. Not saying UM will reach the final weekend, but you can see they have quite the cakewalk to get there.

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SPARTAN WOMEN BLAST OFF IN NCAA TOURNAMENT OPENING GAME

The Michigan State Women's Basketball team showed up to play Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, beating the Hampton Pirates, 91-61, and advancing to the second round of NCAA action to be played on Tuesday night.

The final margin was deceiving as the game wasn't really that close. The Spartans came out of the first timeout trailing by a point, then put together the mother-of-all-runs to take a 20-point lead before Hampton knew what hit them. The half-time score was 55-22, and Freshman Aerial Powers already had a double-double in the books.

Senior Analise Pickrel made all eleven of her shots, but it was Powers who hogged the stat sheet. Pickrel finished with 21 points and Powers scored 26 and grabbed 18 rebounds in the mammoth blowout.

MSU had two weeks to think about why Nebraska booted them out of the conference tournament after the Spartans finished ahead of the Cornhuskers to win the regular season championship. Then they did to Hampton what Nebraska had done to them.

The Spartans are now in line to become the next "sacrificial lamb" sent by the NCAA to its inevitable doom, playing on the home-court of the higher-seeded team at the Dean Dome. Whether or not they accept that role will be determined Tuesday night.

The women's tournament features home-court advantages for up to 16 teams each year, based on a system that awards tournament sites to teams with adequate facilities, in exchange for the guarantee to be placed in a home-pod if the team qualifies for the tournament. Michigan State has hosted NCAA games in the past, most recently in 2009, when Suzy Merchant coached the greatest upset in Spartan Basketball history by crushing top-seeded Duke by 14 points at Breslin in the second round.

The Lady Tar Heels entered the tournament ranked #12 in the nation, after finishing 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. President Obama has picked North Carolina to beat Michigan State on their way to an Elite Eight appearance next weekend.

The game will tip-off Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN-2.




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