As the sea of green eagerly waits the last 14 seconds to tick down, Tom Izzo’s Spartans are locked in as usual. Even with an 82-73 lead and just seconds away from a trip to the National Championship game, they are still playing like they have something to prove, like they are behind—still locked in with straight man to man defense.
Here is a team the state of Michigan needed to help them get through. Thousands of people were losing their jobs and unemployment rate was up to 14 percent. The blue collar citizens needed a blue collar team to pull around.
A.J Price got by Travis Walton and pulled up for what looked like an open three. Now, any normal person would just let this one go, but not a Michigan State senior. No, he leaped in just in time to get a hand in the face of Price and force the miss.
Durrell Summers, at 6'4", flew threw the air, pulling the rebound away from a Uconn big man. He has an open court in front of him with a wide open basket. But he dribbles out the clock. This is Tom Izzo basketball at its best—defense and rebounding, a blue collar team, the heart and soul of the state of Michigan.
Now, meet Michigan head coach John Beilein, the main man whom Spartans are born hating.
He's a man who defies the Big Ten gods by going against man-to-man defense instead opting for the unprecedented 1-3-1 zone defense.
His offense plays off the dribble drive motion but takes it to a new extreme by playing it in a five man out form. He loves constant motion and fearless shooting.
They break a basketball commandment every time they step on the floor.
“Thou shall not rely on the jump shot.”
His team ranked third in the nation in three point attempts and tied for tenth in made ones. They shot 12-42 from beyond the arc last season versus Florida Gulf Coast in a 76-59 win. But the coach didn’t care.
“There was probably five or six I'd take back, but (the three-pointers) were why we were up."
But Wolverine fans are already getting antsy. They want to know where the big recruits are.
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