Wood, Dawson seek to revive Spartans

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Branden Dawson

Updated: December 10, 2011 9:57AM

Indiana University basketball fans would have been thrilled with 19 victories last season. Michigan State? Not so much.

When you’ve averaged 26-plus victories over the previous six seasons and reached the Final Four six times in 13 years a 19-15 record doesn’t invite backflips.

It’s all about expectations in East Lansing, where the Spartans have presented Tom Izzo with 383 victories, six Big Ten regular-season and two tournament titles since he replaced Jud Heathcote in 1995.

The Spartans took an early hit with the recent retirement of Delvon Roe (degenerative knee), who started  in two Final Fours and 83 games in three years, but still retain three starters. Make it four if you count Brandon Wood, an all-Horizon League guard at Valparaiso for the last two years.

Wood’s transfer allows defensive whiz Keith Appling to switch from the No. 2 guard to the point and provides backcourt depth along with freshman Travis Trice, the Ohio basketball player of the year.

Trice and Gary’s Branden Dawson, another heralded freshman, would create instant credibility even if all-conference foward Draymond Green wasn’t available to stiffen MSU’s spine.

Izzo is not inclined to dramatic excess, but makes an exception for Green. He compares the flamboyant 6-7 senior’s leadership qualities to  Magic Johnson and Mateen Cleaves, who led the Spartans to national titles in 1979 and 2000.

“Draymond’s got incredible passion for basketball and Michigan State,” says Izzo, who describes him as a people-person guy with enough nastiness to qualify as a jerk if the mood strikes him. “We need to make sure he keeps his mind on the prize.”

Combining Green’s eight-plus rebounds a game with Dawson’s obvious boardwalking skills puts the Spartans in position to dominate the glass, something they routinely excel at in the Big Ten.

Not at all reluctant to pat himself on the back, Dawson has already gone on record as telling Izzo he’s going to be one of the best offensive rebounders in MSU history.

“I think he will be,” said Izzo after the 6-6 rookie lived up to the hype with 14 points and nine rebounds (six offensive) in a lopsided exhibition victory over Ferris State.

Most freshmen struggle to balance the physical demands of juggling Division I basketball with academic responsibilities. Dawson is one of those rare exceptions.

“We’ve got two athletic guys who are ready now,” says Izzo. “Wood because he’s a senior and Dawson because he’s a man-child. He’s a big, strong kid who does not get beat up.”

Making adjustments should come naturally for Wood. The shooting guard has experienced three different styles of coaching at the college level.

“Taking it back even further, I’ve had a different coach every year in high school,” he said at Michigan State’s media day. “It made the transition (to MSU) easier.”

Both Dawson and Wood started against Ferris State, a possible season-long scenario. Does Izzo think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

“I do,” he says. “Partly out of being good enough. Partly out of necessity.”

Not that he didn’t find a few flies in the ointment.

“I think he’s (Dawson) got to realize he’s an inside-out 3-point shooter. We’ve got to get him coming off picks harder. We just have to take him out of second or third gear and get him into fourth and fifth.”

It was more of an observation than a criticism of the former Wallace standout.

“You have to do that with most freshmen,” Izzo points out. “He’s been used to gliding and I thought he didn’t get back at times (Ferris State).”

Keep your eye on No. 22 and Trice, who might be battling each other for Big Ten freshman of the year honors.  Asked about their energy level, Izzo was quick to applaud their early responses to pointed suggestions.

“Both freshmen responded very well, and that was encouraging,” he said.

One thing I’ve always liked about Izzo is his fearless approach to nonconference scheduling. Last year the Spartans tuned up for conference hostilities with a 1-3 record against South Carolina, Duke, Syracuse and Texas.

This time around he’s not dodging the Mr. Bigs, starting with North Carolina, Duke and Florida State in November and a December trip to Gonzaga, where his former boss, Heathcote chose to retire.

“Jud’s a season-ticket holder there,” said Izzo. “Imagine him sitting behind our bench screaming at me.”

It’s a price Izzo is willing to pay to keep MSU’s name in the upper echelons of Division I.

Unless you’re UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas or North Carolina it’s a never-ending assignment for Izzo, who shows no signs of burning out.

Prediction time: Ohio State’s the unanimous choice for No. 1 in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes being ranked No. 3 nationally in five preseason polls.

Beyond that it’s a crap shoot with Wisconsin, Purdue, MSU and Michigan fighting it out for runner-up honors. All except Purdue received at least two top 25 mentions in the aforementioned polls.

Michigan coach John Beuerlein puts it this way: “You could have a bunch of 8-and-8s (conference) with pretty good seasons.”

Here’s how they’ll shake out: 1. Ohio State, 2. Purdue, 3. Michigan, 4. MSU, 5. Wisconsin.

All-conference: Jared Sullinger (Ohio, player of year), Robbie Hummel (Purdue), Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin), Tim Hardaway Jr. (Michigan), John Shurna (Northwestern).