MSU Sports
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
I know that we at least 3 months away from the start of Midnight Madness for the Michigan State Men’s Basketball Team, but that did not stop the Spartans from making headlines this week. In a press statement, MSU head coach Tom Izzo announced that shooting guard/small forward Chris Allen will not be returning to the Spartans for his senior season. In the press release, Izzo announced that Allen “failed to meet all of the obligations” presented to him during the off season. His spot on the team had been in question due to issues with his academic performance and conduct off of the court.
Allen has the opportunity to transfer schools for his senior season. If he transfers to another Division I school, he would have to sit out the upcoming basketball season. He would have one year of eligibility remaining for the 2011-2012 season. If he goes to lower division school, he will have the opportunity to play this upcoming season.
Chris Allen’s presence on the team will be sorely missed on a Spartan team that hopes to make it to its third consecutive Final Four. Allen was arguably the teams best outside shooter and perimeter defender. With his threat as a shooter, he created driving lanes for Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers and Korie Lucious. Without him in the lineup, teams might be more likely to double team in the post or on drives to the basket without the threat of an outside shooter. Also, in a league that features strong shooting guards like E’Twaun Moore of Purdue, David Lightly and William Buford of Ohio State, and Demetri McCamey of Illinois, Chris Allen’s on the ball defense will be missed. Durrell Summers, Mike Kebler, Austin Thornton, and others must set up defensively to lessen the impact of losing Allen. Look for freshmen Keith Appling and Russell Byrd to play a larger role for the team in their first season.
Allen averaged 8.2 points a game for the Spartans while shooting almost 40% from the 3 point line for the Spartans last season. The entire Spartan community wishes him good luck in his future endeavors. This season is going to be interesting to watch from your Michigan State University apartment.
Do you think Allen’s lost will hurt the Spartans in the win and lost column? What do you and your roommates think in your MSU student apartment? Let your voice be heard!
- Shaun
Tags: Chris Allen Basketball Player, MSU basketball news, MSU news, MSU sports news, spartan basketball, Tom Izzo
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Monday, June 14th, 2010
233 Miles. Roughly 4 hours. That is the distance between current Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo’s biggest decision in his professional life. Is he to stay in the comforts of East Lansing and coach the Spartans or should he leave for the “greener” pastures and new challenges coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers?
If you have not followed this story, on June 7, it is reported that the Cavaliers offered Izzo their vacant head coaching position. MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis confirmed that Cleveland was interested in talking to Izzo about the position but no offer was made. The next day, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert (who is a Michigan State graduate) offered Izzo a 5 year, $30 million dollar contact. That offer also reportedly includes the use of one Gilbert’s private jets whenever he wants. A couple of days later, the Izzo family traveled to Cleveland to take a tour of the city and the Cavaliers’ facilities. He did leave Cleveland, however, without a contact, and returned to East Lansing. On Friday, June 11, Izzo met with his MSU players and reportedly told them he was looking into the Cleveland position.
When Izzo was asked if he had made a decision on June 12, he told reporters that he was “still gathering” information about his options. This is an obviously very difficult decision to make. What makes the situation difficult is the contact status of LeBron James. Is he going to be in Cleveland next year or will he sign elsewhere? No one knows. Izzo wants to make a decision quickly so if he does leave, MSU can good ahead and quickly find his replacement. If James stays in Cleveland, the Cavaliers post will be hard to pass up. Izzo would have a chance to coach the league’s best player and a championship contender. If James does not stay, is the $30 million worth leaving an MSU program that will be a top 5 team next year? If he passes this opportunity up, can a 55 year old coach find another option like this one?
Right now, there seems to be more questions than answers for Tom Izzo and the Spartan faithful. Where does his heart lie, on the bench in the Breslin Center or in Quicken Loans Arena?
If you’re in your MSU apartment reading this, post a comment! Let us know what you think he’ll do!
-Shaun H
Tags: Lebron James decision, spartan basketball, Tom Izzo, Tom Izzo Cavaliers, Tom Izzo decision
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Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Flicking through the channels in my East Lansing student apartment a few days ago, I came across a cheer leading competition on ESPN. Having been a competitive cheerleader for ten years, it brought back fond memories with friends and made me wonder if I still had what it took to do some of the moves. Check it out:
Hope you enjoyed!
-Liza Shaul
Tags: east lansing apartment, michigan state sports, MSU Apartments, msu cheer, msu sports
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Monday, May 3rd, 2010
Are Greg Jones and Kalin Lucas giving up their senior seasons to pursue careers in modeling? Spartan fans need not worry, though Jones and Lucas were among 9 other MSU student athletes modeling new uniforms for the upcoming 2010-2011 season at the Clara Bell Smith Auditorium on April 23.
The new uniforms represent a two-year collaboration between the Athletic Department and Nike to unify all Spartans sports as one. When Athletic Director Mark Hollis took the job in 2008, he wanted to make sure everything in the department was done with “one focus”. The appearance of the Michigan State teams did not seem to follow that idea because, as Hollis put it, the program had “…different greens, logos, word-marks and uniform quality.”
With the newly unveiled uniforms, the MSU Athletic Department hopes to create a new, unified brand to identify its athletic teams while reflecting the traditions of Spartan past. You might remember that when a new MSU Spartan head logo appeared on the U.S. Patent and Trademark website, fans and alumni were upset about the prospect of losing some tradition with replacement of the old logo. In response to the negative feedback, Hollis decided to keep the traditional Spartan head logo and incorporate it into the uniform design.
Student athletes from football, men’s and women’s basketball, hockey, and women’s volleyball were represented in the uniform unveiling. The uniforms, which consistently uses the MSU colors, logos, lettering and numerical fonts features a darker shade of green in all uniforms and bronze outlining of the numbers.
I saw the unveiling on ESPN in my MSU student apartment. I liked the new basketball jerseys, with “Spartans” replacing the customary “State.” It will go along way in educating a non-sports fan watching a game casually which team is playing (just saying State doesn’t necessarily mean Michigan State).
The initial response to the new uniforms has been positive. Quarterback Kirk Cousins said that he liked the new bronze outlines for the lettering and the darker shade of green. Jones added that the uniforms “breathe better” so the players feel cooler when they are competing.
What do you think? Do you like the new uniforms? Let your voice be heard!
-Shaun Holness
Tags: michigan state new uniforms, michigan state uniforms, MSU new logo, msu new uniforms, msu sports
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Friday, March 26th, 2010
Michigan State advanced to the sweet sixteen for the ninth time in the last 13 seasons and will face the champions of the Missouri Valley Conference, the Panthers of Northern Iowa. The game is tonight at 9:37 PM, and you know I’ll be watching it from my East Lansing Student Apartment!
How do the Spartans match-up with Northern Iowa? Here’s my opinion:
MSU vs. Northern Iowa back courts: Coach Izzo’s message to his guards during this game should be an easy one: RUN! RUN! RUN! Even though they lost point guard Kalin Lucas for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, Michigan State still has the athleticism to get up and down the court. Korie Lucious with get the bulk of Lucas’ minutes and is one of the faster guards in the nation. More important than the play of Lucious will be his back court mates; Durrell Summers and Chris Allen. When Summers and Allen are on, MSU is difficult to beat. Summers is great getting to the basket while Allen is probably MSU’s best on ball defender and three point shooter.
UNI has very capable guards as well. With his big shots to beat UNLV and Kansas, Ali Farokhmanesh as proven that he is a gritty guard that will back down to no one. The other guard is Kwando Ahelegbe, who is a good on ball defender who can get to the bucket. Each of these guards shoots well from the 3 point line, so MSU must close out on each shooter. Keep in mind that MSU has yet to win with Lucas out for an entire game. ADVANTAGE: Even
MSU vs. Northern Iowa front courts: To win this ballgame, MSU has to win the battle on the boards. MSU is number one is the nation in rebounding margin whereas UNI is ranked 84th. Raymar Morgan has played well in the first two games of the tournament, averaging 14 points on 56% shooting. He and vocal leader Draymond Green could be match up nightmares for the Panthers. Watch for Green, who is probably the team’s best passer, to get Morgan involved inside from the high post.
Keep on eye on UNI’s Jordan Edlseder. Expect the lefty and the 6’8 Adam Koch (the MVC player of the year) to challenge the Spartans on the interior. MSU may need role players Derrick Nix and Garrick Sherman to play a bigger role; if anything, take some fouls. ADVANTAGE: MSU
MSU vs. Northern Iowa coaches: After navigating through a school record 30 win- season and to the sweet sixteen, UNI awarded coach Ben Jacobson with a new 10 year deal that includes a pay raise. In the first 2 rounds of the NCAA tournament, he out coached two of the best coaches in the nation, UNLV’s Lon Kruger and Kansas’s Bill Self. I expect that trend to stop here. As most of you know, Izzo is on of the premier tournament coaches in the nation. If MSU loses this match up, it will not be because the Spartans were out coached. ADVANTAGE: MSU
I expect MSU to win by about 10 points; something like 70-60. It will be a very close game with MSU widening the lead at the end of the game with free throws. What do you think?
Tags: msu baskeball, msu sports, msu vs UNI, msu vs. northern iowa, spartan basketball
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Monday, March 22nd, 2010
What a game!
Against nearly every expert prediction, the Michigan State Spartans beat Maryland yesterday 85-83, advancing themselves to the Sweet 16. The game came down to the last six seconds, with MSU controlling the ball. I was literally glued to my TV in my MSU apartment. 5…4…3…2…(Lucious shoots!)…1…it’s good! It’s good! MSU wins!
Now, anything is possible. The Spartans were given a HUGE helping hand by Kansas losing to Northern Iowa. A once bleak looking bracket suddenly looks reasonably promising. If the Spartans can beat Northern Iowa, they’ll face either Ohio State or Tennessee; two teams they are very capable of beating.
The one problem MSU now has is the injury to Kaylin Lucas, who injured his foot in the 2ND half of yesterday’s game. MSU doubts he’ll be ready to play in time for Friday making the point guard position a question mark.
My prediction: MSU overcomes adversity again and beats Northern Iowa, 71-67. What do you think? Make a comment and let me know!
Go State!
-Ryan Shaul
Tags: michigan state basketball, msu basketball, msu sports, msu sweet sixteen, msu vs. maryland
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Friday, March 12th, 2010
It’s that time of the year again! Tournament Madness! The Michigan State Spartans are getting geared up for this years NCAA basketball tournament. After winning a share of the Big Ten Conference Championship, the Spartans set their eyes on winning the Big Ten Tournament. I’m extremely excited! The #11 Spartans face the Minnesota Golden Golphers tonight at 8:55 p.m. The Spartans have beat them twice this year, but each game has been extremely close. I’d probably watch the game tonight in my Chandler Crossings apartment, with my friends, in front of a flat screen, eating an extra large pizza. ummm! When it’s tournament time, a buzz is created around MSU campus and the tournament is a huge East Lansing event. I’m geeked and I’m confident that the Spartans will go deep in this years tourney. I got the Spartans going all the way, who you got?
-Ernest M
Tags: Chandler Crossings apartment, East Lansing Events
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Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
What a great run.
That’s all I can say regarding Team USA Hockey and their Winter Olympic performance. For two weeks, I was glued to the TV in my East Lansing apartment. Each shift, I watched a group of young NHL players come together building chemistry with each other and sharing a growing desire to win.
Team USA went in to the Gold Medal game undefeated, due largely in part by the play of former Michigan State star goaltender Ryan Miller. His ability to stand on his head in clutch moments allowed the USA team to take chances in their opponents zone with confidence.
The Gold Medal game was electric. A game that was not dominated by either team showed remnants of a chess game with two talented players. Each time a team would change their offensive or defensive strategy, the opposing team switched also.
With just 24 seconds remaining in regulation, Team USA scored the game tying goal with their goalie pulled in order to send them in to sudden death overtime. Every American hockey fan thought this was the sign of the next Miracle on Ice. Unfortunately, Americans were disappointed when Canadian player Sydney Crosby scored the game winning goal some 9 minutes into overtime.
Though I am disappointed we couldn’t win the gold, I will always appreciate the efforts of this Team USA. Exceeding every expectation, (including my own), they showed the talent American hockey has to offer. With a young team, don’t be surprised if Team USA is extremely relevant again at the 2014 Winter Games.
-Ryan Shaul
Tags: team usa hockey, usa gold medal game, usa olympic results, usa olympics, usa silver medal
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Friday, February 19th, 2010
Going to the big game against Ferris tomorrow night? Well the entire student section is getting a FREE white MSU t-shirt to assist with the student section white-out! Chandler Crossings is supplying these sweet shirts to support the Spartans in their match against the Ferris State Bulldogs. The game starts at 5pm, but get there a few minutes early so you have time to grab your FREE t-shirt! Awesome, right?
Don’t have tickets yet? No problem! Visit the MSU Hockey site so you can buy your tickets! Hurry, cuz they won’t last long! So far, Ferris and MSU are tied in second place in our conference. This is a big game! Hopefully our White-Out give the Spartans some extra support to take down those Bulldogs! Go Spartan Hockey!
Posted By Katelyn Moore
Tags: MSU Hockey, msu hockey schedule, msu hockey tickets, msu vs. ferris st
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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
What’s up Chandler Crossings! Remember this post regarding MSU possibly changing their logo? Well, forget I ever wrote it! In a letter written to fans in press release on February 5, MSU athletic director Mark Hollis announced that “…after careful consideration, we will use the current Spartan logo design, first used in the late 1970s, to build our visual brand identity.” It’s true. So gather around your roommates in your East Lansing student apartment and let them know the good news.
Although Michigan State and Nike are expected to unveil a new and unified look for all MSU sports teams in April, it seems that the voice of Spartan Nation was heard. Hollis, displaying great leadership, listened to the cries of students, fans, and alumni that said that changing the logo would be losing part of the great Spartan identity. He did it also in such a way that would not put a strain on it financial relationship with Nike reiterating his commitment to resign of Spartan sports to make it a “cohesive national brand.” Remember, Hollis and the Athletics Department have a lot of bills to pay.
Are you happy to see the current logo being apart of the uniform resign? Would you rather Michigan State stick with its current set of uniforms for its sports teams? Poll your roommates in your MSU student apartment and let your voice be heard!
Written by: Shaun Holness
Tags: Michigan State Spartan Logo, MSU and Nike Logo, MSU new logo, MSU spartan helmet, MSU Spartan Logo
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