April 5, 2009
By Adam
Lucas
DETROIT--One of the major storylines--and perhaps the primary storyline--for Monday night's championship game will be Michigan State trying to lift the spirits of the state of Michigan.
"There's a storm in the city of Detroit, and we're trying to bring some sunlight to it," Spartan point guard Kalin Lucas said.
Of course, that storyline ignores the fact that there are also hard economic times in other parts of America. Charlotte's banking industry has been severely impacted, and Roy Williams's son, Scott--a former UNC player--lost his job in that field.
Credit MSU coach Tom Izzo for keeping a better perspective on the importance of one basketball game than some members of the media. "There's a lot of cities right now that have problems," Izzo said. "But this is ours. This is our big city in the state. So that's why I think it's a little more meaningful for those of us that are from around here."
Williams, however, isn't ready to institute his own Detroit stimulus package just yet.
"I do realize they have a cause," Williams said. "Well, we also have a cause. We want to win a national championship. And if you would tell me that if Michigan State wins, it's going to satisfy the nation's economy, then I'd say, `Let's stay poor for a little while longer.'"
On the run: Michigan State is slightly above the national average in Ken Pomeroy's tempo ratings, but they're generally viewed as more of a halfcourt team. Izzo had an interesting take on how he wants his team to run.
"We have to make the best decisions," Izzo said. "I don't want to make them on this end, I want to make them on our end. In other words, let's push it all the way. When we get down there, there's going to be pressure on (Kalin Lucas and Korie Lucious) to figure out if we have numbers and are we going to get a good shot or not.
"I don't like when we make that decision on the outlet. I like when we make that decision on the finish. That puts more pressure on my guards. But I think they're ready to handle that now. They've grown a lot during this year, too."
Lucas, a sophomore, sounded like he knew which decisions he'd probably be making.
"I want to push the ball up the floor every time," Lucas said. "We have some good wing players that can really run, and bigs that can get up and down the floor. We want to push the ball in transition, and Carolina does the same thing. It's going to be a track race tomorrow night."
Preparation: Sunday's press conferences illustrated the major differences in game preparation even between two teams that share a national stage. Tom Izzo's team watched film of Carolina last night and will review different film sessions in 15-minute chunks on Sunday and Monday. Under Roy Williams, however, Carolina has always done a more limited form of a scouting report. The Tar Heels are handed a two-page printed report, watch (and re-watch on two other occasions) 8 minutes of video clips, and do an 8-minute walk-through of some on-court instruction.
"We teach by principles," Williams said. "That's what I've been comfortable with and that's what I enjoy doing.'
Briefly: The most wow-inspiring play of Saturday night's two semifinals probably came when Michigan State's Durrell Summers threw down a one-handed dunk over Connecticut's Stanley Robinson, a play that galvanized the Ford Field crowd and sent the Spartans on their game-clinching run. "I saw him backpedal a little bit," Summers said. "He's an athletic guy just like I am, but I like my chances with a guy backpedaling and me going straight up. He got a piece of the ball and I tried to overpower him a little bit."... Michael Jordan is scheduled to be in Detroit to be announced as a new member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and is also hoping to attend Monday night's game...Rasheed Wallace's Pistons played in Philadelphia on Saturday and arrived back in Detroit late Saturday evening. What did he do as soon as he landed? Drive to Ford Field, where he arrived just after halftime and saw most of the second half...
All the Spartans refer to Goran Suton as "G," which can be kind of confusing when you've spent the entire season conditioned to think that "G" is Duke's Gerald Henderson...Carolina's players were visibly more weary at Sunday's media sessions than the Spartans. The Tar Heels arrived back at the team hotel just before 1 a.m. and then had to be back at Ford Field for early afternoon media obligations. They held a short mid-afternoon practice at the arena and then came back to the team hotel, where they were greeted with the same extremely loud and extremely tone-questionable music from a street festival that has blared virtually nonstop since Saturday morning. Actual quote from Sunday afternoon: "Is this the same set list as yesterday? I think I heard this really bad version of a Warren G song yesterday."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
