Michigan State Basketball: Final Grades for Spartans in 2014-15

With exception to being thrashed and mangled Saturday night by the Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four, the 2014-15 season was good to the Michigan State Spartans—maybe a little too good, actually, given the fluctuating circumstances that surrounded their improbable run to the national semis in Indianapolis in the first place. 

There weren’t many, if any, analysts and experts who projected the Spartans past the Sweet 16, let alone to a date with destiny and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is now 9-1 versus Michigan State coach Tom Izzo after Saturday night’s Final Four blowout.

There weren’t many, if any, who saw this year’s team doing much of anything, really. Gary Harris skipped his final two seasons to hop in the NBA. Adreian Payne and Keith Appling graduated and pursued pro careers, leaving seniors Travis Trice and Branden Dawson to lead the way.

By reaching the Final Four, Trice and Dawson—and former walk-on Keenan Wetzel—immortalized themselves in Spartans history.

This season was supposed to be a re-building campaign, but it ended as one of Izzo’s most storied runs to glory. Simply put: The 2014-15 Spartans, who won 12 of their final 16 games, greatly overachieved.

For that, their season as a whole, is worthy of a grade of a B+.

Had they won or at least avoided the blowout on national television—three channels if you count the national broadcast and Bleacher Report’s Duke and Michigan State Team Stream options—this year would have been at least an A- for a team that finished third in the Big Ten regular-season standings.

Before going any further, it’s important to remember that factors such as leadership, regular-season performance, non-conference performance, individual showings by key players and coaching were considered while determining Michigan State’s final grade for the season.

Early Tests

Grade: C

Instead of playing a handful of Arkansas-Pine Bluffs or Texas Southerns, like a lot of major programs, Izzo prefers to test his team early and often. That’s why he schedules teams such as North Carolina, Kansas and Duke in December. That’s why he throws himself into elite tournaments, such as the Champions Classic. In doing so, he’s essentially looking ahead to March.

Here’s where things get tricky: Izzo doesn’t always win those early-season matchups. That’s why Michigan State was given an average grade for its play during those pre-conference burners.

However, more times than not, those dances with giants serve as a learning tool, propelling the Spartans into contention for a Big Ten title and nice run through the tournament.

An 81-71 loss to Duke on Nov. 18 was a learning moment, so was the 61-56 loss to Kansas on Nov. 30. Duke has a date Monday night with Wisconsin, with the winner being crowned as national champion. Not many, if any, coaches can say they played a team of Duke’s caliber twice in one season. 

Kansas is always a toss-up, so, in hindsight, losing by six to a team that was projected to do some damage in March probably wasn’t an issue for Izzo, who likes to play across the water, on aircraft carriers and anywhere else there is a court, rim and backboard.

Regular Season

Andy Manis/Associated Press

Grade: C+

Take a moment to really look at the big picture. Michigan State finished third in the Big Ten, a league that sent two teams to the Final Four. One of them, Wisconsin, plays for a national title Monday night.

The Spartans lost both meetings with the Badgers this year—a 68-61 setback in Madison and an 80-69 overtime loss in the Big Ten Tournament title game—but if anything, they should take comfort in knowing that they hung with either the best or second-best team in the nation for roughly 80 minutes.

Had they shown some fight during overtime in the Big Ten tourney, they could claim 85 minutes. Today is probably a different story, though, as the Badgers are clearly the hottest team remaining.

Michigan State swept Michigan for the first time in four years, which helped pad a 12-6 league record. Izzo certainly didn’t mind doing that, especially since some projected Michigan as the better team entering the season.

Conversely, Izzo was handled twice by Big Ten-newcomer Maryland, putting a ding in the overall grade. However, those losses were different. Maryland, despite being new to the league, has run an upper-echelon program for decades, so it’s not like Izzo lost to struggling Rutgers, another B1G newbie.

There were highs and lows during the so-so regular season. But those emotional peaks and valleys prepared the Spartans for the real season—March Madness.

Tournament Showing

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Grade: A-

With wins over Louisville, the No. 4-seeded team in the East, and Virginia, the No. 2-seeded team, the Spartans proved that Izzo’s March magic is real, and not just some concoction of local media. Might as well include Oklahoma, too—it was the No. 3 seeded team in the region.

That was a quality “W” regardless of how it’s sliced.

For the first 10 minutes or so Saturday night, the Spartans appeared capable of just maybe stunning Duke, which is 9-1 versus Izzo, and sliding their way into the national spotlight Monday night. But they simply didn’t have the firepower to contend with Jahlil Okafor and the rest of the Blue Devils.

But again, this was a team without a dominant big man; it was also without a potential Big Ten Player of the Year candidate in Gary Harris, who won frosh of the year honors back in 2012-13. He would have been a junior this season, but instead, the No. 19 pick of the 2014 draft is contributing to the Denver Nuggets.

This was also a team without Adreian Payne, who, as a senior in 2013-14, was among the nation’s best. Keith Appling wasn’t around to lend his trademarked stifling defense. Honestly, the 2013-14 team should have reached the Final Four, not the 2014-15 team.

Extending the streak of 18 tournament appearances was a milestone in itself, but restoring tradition had to have meant much more to Izzo and his players. With exception to the 2014 seniors, each one of Izzo’s four-year athletes has played in at least one Final Four.

Individual Performances

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Trice

Trice has been one of the nation’s most prolific players for the past 15 games, and the senior certainly earned his stripes during the tournament, as most Izzo seniors do, by carrying the Spartans to the Final Four.

He’s conquered life-threatening brain disease, injuries and inconsistencies on the path to greatness in East Lansing. He won’t be remembered as the best Izzo point guard. That’s Mateen Cleaves. However, he’ll probably be remembered as Izzo’s toughest.

While incredibly gritty in his own right, Cleaves didn’t go through the medical struggles that plagued Trice’s career. None of Izzo’s players have, actually.

Two weeks ago, Izzo said that “99 percent” of Trice’s problems were due to health and that it’d be fair to heavily contemplate the “could-have-been” aspects of Trice’s career. What if Izzo had a healthy Trice for four years?

Both Izzo and Trice will probably think of that for years to come.

Stat-wise, Trice led the Spartans with an average of 15.3 points per game. His 16 points in the Final Four were second to Denzel Valentine’s 22.  

During one stretch of the season, Trice averaged close to six assists per game, ranking him among the top 10 set-up men in the country. Leadership-wise, Trice lived up to his calling. He helped groom a young point guard, freshman Lourawls “Tum-Tum” Nairn, during the run to the national semis.

Through and through, on the court and away from it, Trice has epitomized what it meant to be an Izzo senior. He gets an A+ for turning it on when Izzo needed it most.

Dawson

In some eyes, a few years ago, Dawson looked like a two-and-done player, but he stuck around for four years—four years that molded him, he recently said during a phone interview.

On Saturday night, he scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds—not exactly what he probably hoped for, but it was something. That “something,” the X-Factor, has always been his upside, but it’s also been his downfall.

It's either Mega Dawson or Minor Branden. 

When properly fueled, Dawson is among the most athletic players on the court, if not the most athletic. He led the Spartans with 9.1 rebounds this season, yet sometimes he appeared to be afraid to attack the glass.

Like Trice’s career, Dawson’s will always be one of wonder. He could have transformed into one of Izzo’s all-time greatest players. But due to a rough first season with Izzo and several following injuries, he ran out of time to really show who he was and what he was capable of doing.

Dawson gets a “B” for the year. The 6’6”, 225-pound forward should have been a 15-and-10 guy all day, every day, and earned an "A" this year. But he’d either be 20-and-14 or six-and-eight, resulting in averages of 11.9 points and roughly nine boards per outing.

Nonetheless, he was a vital piece to the Spartans’ success this season and is most certainly worthy of a “B.”

Valentine

With a game-high 22 points and an all-out assault from long range (five of nine), Valentine, a junior from Lansing, did everything he could to keep the Spartans afloat versus Duke.

In doing so, he gave Izzo a lot to look forward to next season. That’s assuming Valentine stays, which he should. He’s not a first-rounder by any means.

At 6’5” and 225 pounds, Valentine can do everything. He delivered several highlight-reel passes throughout March Madness and flexed a bit of defensive muscle.

But more importantly, he displayed take-over abilities. That’s what Michigan State needs now that Trice and Dawson are graduating.

Other than turnovers and mental mistakes, some of which occurred during the tournament, Valentine had a well-rounded season. He averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He’s worthy of a “B+” in any book.

Forbes

The addition of Bryn Forbes helped (somewhat) remedy the loss of Gary Harris, who hit 37.6 percent of three-pointers during two years with Izzo.

Before joining Michigan State, Forbes was used to being the go-to scorer. While with Cleveland State, he averaged roughly 15 points per game, making him one of the Horizon League’s top scorers.

This year, he was a role player. He didn’t mind doing so, either. Next season, Forbes will be asked to do much more. He’ll be a senior, too.

Forbes get a “B-“ for the season. He was held scoreless versus Duke, which was an obvious lowlight, but provided much-needed production during his team’s run to Indianapolis.

To avoid writing a novel, and to save more thorough individual breakdowns for later in the offseason, here are grades for the rest of the key players:

Clark

The 6’6”, 225-pound forward got his feet wet and emerged during the tournament. Despite four fouls and one point versus Duke, his overall performance in 2014-15 is worthy of a “B.”

Nairn

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Tum-Tum’s the next point guard. He scored two points and had five assists versus Duke, but he was key to the development of Trice. Don’t let the numbers fool you, Nairn’s on the right track. At 5’9” and 165 pounds, he’s not very big. He needs to bulk-up in the offseason and work on defense.

He gets a “B+” for the season.

Schilling

Due to trial by fire, the 6’9” 245-pound sophomore improved across the board. He upped his minutes from 6.4 to 16.9 per game, and his scoring jumped from 1.4 points to 5.1 per outing. Defensively, he still needs a lot of polishing. He’s foul-prone and often has difficulty with dominant bigs (see Saturday night).

Schilling gets a "C" for the season. 

Costello

The 6’9”, 245 pound junior has big shoes to fill next year. He’ll be counted on as a leading man. His minutes increased from 14.7 to 20.7 and his scoring increased from four to seven points per game. Still, he left a lot to be desired. And like Schilling, he oftentimes has trouble with elite forwards/centers.

The former Mr. Basketball (Michigan) gets a “C+” for 2014-15.

Izzo

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

Mr. March has yet to become Mr. April—that title belongs to Coach K of Duke. However, this season was one of Izzo’s best yet. If you’ve made it this far, you’ve already read about the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs and side-to-sides that shaped the Spartans.

This past week, Izzo said that this year’s team wasn’t the most athletically gifted, but it was by and large one of the most family-like teams he’s ever directed.

That goes to leadership on the players’ end, but it also reflects on coaching. Izzo gets an “A” for taking a “decent-to-good basketball team” all the way to Indianapolis.

Follow Bleacher Report’s Michigan State Spartans basketball writer Adam Biggers on Twitter @AdamBiggers81

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and references were obtained firsthand by the writer via press conference, press release or other media availability.