A Rivalry Renewed Comment Count

dylanb

It feels like it's been a long time since this game really mattered. Michigan has beaten the Spartans a couple times in Crisler Arena over the past few years, but they have fallen short of the NCAA tournament time and time again. The six years of the Tommy Amaker era saw Michigan take a couple steps forward, but in the end the improvements proved to be nothing more than a flash in the pan. Amaker did win a few more games than Brian Elerbee (Thank God) but another coach has come and gone, and now John Beilein gets his shot at steering this club into the tournament.

These two programs are on different levels, that much is undeniable. The Michigan program is showing signs of life and with a few more wins could be on the brink of their first NCAA tournament berth since 1998. In contrast, since UCLA knocked Michigan out of that NCAA tournament 11 years ago, Michigan State has won a National Championship, accumulated three Big Ten crowns, been to four Final Fours, and made it to the NCAA tournament each and every year.

Naysayers might say that a rivalry can't exist when you have two programs that have traveled down such different paths over the last decade or so. They are dead wrong, this rivalry is alive and Tom Izzo makes that much clear:

"Everybody wanted a rivalry, well, you've got one,"

This rivalry is very much doing just fine and Michigan has a chance to pump a little more life into the rivalry tonight. In-state rivalries are just different; households are divided, friendships are split, and pride is on the line. Try telling Manny Harris or Kalin Lucas this game doesn’t mean just a little bit more, that this matchup doesn’t get just a little bit more attention, and they might have something to say. Michigan-Michigan State is the rivalry that burns in my heart, every winter this is the rivalry that matters.  I'll worry about that team in Columbus next fall.

Recruiting

In-state talent is the foundation of both programs, so naturally recruiting lies at the heart of the rivalry. Over 65% of both teams' scoring comes from in-state players and four of the five highest profile players in this game all hail from the state of Michigan: Manny Harris, Kalin Lucas, Goran Suton, and DeShawn Sims. You would be crazy to think that any of these guys don't understand the rivalry.

If there’s one guy on Michigan’s roster who learned firsthand just how heated this rivalry can be on the recruiting trail, it’s DeShawn Sims. DeShawn had narrowed his school list to Michigan, Michigan State, and Syracuse and started mentioning a "one school list" early in the summer of 2005. Izzo continued to recruit DeShawn throughout the summer despite the consensus feeling that Michigan was the school on that one team list. When DeShawn informed Izzo that he was headed to Michigan, Izzo reportedly let him have a piece of his mind in a way that only Tom Izzo can. Izzo berated him for wasting his time and told him that he should have just committed to Michigan instead of leading him on. Rumors and speculation spread like wildfire between enraged coaches, reporters, and message board posters in a nonsensical way that only an in-state rivalry could stir up.

Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Manny Harris

The star studded sophomore class that will star in tonight's game is made up of long time friends from the city of Detroit. Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Manny Harris (pictured above) starred together for Detroit area AAU team The Family, tearing apart the best high school competition in the country. Manny and Kalin are still good friends, but that didn't stop Kalin from coming up with fake trash talk, that supposedly came straight from Manny Harris' mouth, to motivate Travis Walton to beat one of the worst Wolverine teams in recent history:

"I was telling Travis how Manny was talking stuff when actually he wasn't," Lucas said. "I was just getting him pumped up and juiced for the game and it worked."
What exactly was Lucas saying?
"I was just saying, 'Manny said you too little, you too small, you're 6-1, you can't hold him, you can't check him,'" Lucas said. "I just had to get in Travis' head a little bit and Travis went out there and played great defense."

How important is this game to John Beilein? The head coach -- widely regarded as one of the best teachers of the game by analysts, scouts, and coaches across the country -- was rejected early on by Detroit PSL coaches. Beilein dug himself further into a hole when he offered Zack Novak and Stu Douglass, two unknowns from Indiana, rather than pursue the mid-level talent available in the PSL. Leading two Detroit kids (Manny and DeShawn) to a win over Michigan State tonight would certainly be a message to those coaches that they should start to pay attention to the headman in Ann Arbor.

The first head-to-head recruiting battle between John Beilein and Tom Izzo was over Draymond Green. Green turned down the opportunity for ample playing time in Michigan's sparse front court, and is now playing only 9.3 minutes per game for the Spartans. Many recruiting analysts thought Draymond was headed to Ann Arbor before a late Michigan State offer swayed Day-Day to the green and white. It's hard to interpret that as anything more than a statement from Tom Izzo – stay out of my backyard.

The recruiting battle between these two schools will wage on. Both schools pulled in big men from Detroit in the 2009 class, but have yet to battle over any other recruits. All eyes are pointing toward the class of 2010 where top in-state talent like Trey Zeigler, Ray McCallum, Isaiah Sykes, and Alex Gauna are already drawing Michigan and Michigan State interest. Izzo drew first blood in the fledgling battle, gaining a commitment from Pershing High School 4-star point guard Keith Appling.

Forging An Identity

beilein-izzo

All great coaches and programs have an identity. One of the problems with the Tommy Amaker era was that those teams never really had something to hang their hats on. There are many ways to win in college basketball and every great coach has his own style. Tom Izzo built the Michigan State program on defense and rebounding, while John Beilein's teams have been constructed around the three point shot and eliminating turnovers.

Is one way better than the other? I don't think so. Izzo has the stronger resume at this point in his career but he's been at a high-major program for a much longer period of time than Beilein. Beilein has won at every level and right now appears to have Michigan headed in the right direction, maybe even ahead of schedule. 

The contrasting styles of the two teams will make for an interesting game tonight, and a hell of a rivalry down the line. Michigan State is the best rebounding team in the country. They rebound 41.8% of their misses and 73% of their opponents' misses, the only team to rank in the top 10 in both rebounding categories.

Michigan shoots almost 50% of their shots from behind the arc and while they haven't knocked them down consistently, they have shown just how potent the offense can be when the shots are going in. Regardless of their shooting struggles, Michigan has turned into a team that values the ball. They turn the ball over on only 17.2% of their possessions, 15th best in the country. Holding onto the ball kept Michigan in plenty of games, and even helped lead to a couple huge upsets.

How did Michigan beat UCLA? Not with shooting or rebounding. They shot only 43% from the field and allowed UCLA to rebound over 40% of their misses. Michigan won that game by winning the turnover battle, turning it over on only 15.8% their possessions, while forcing UCLA to turn it over on 29.8% of theirs.

History

John Beilein and Tom Izzo certainly respect each other and will go out of their way to be extremely classy in public -- no short jokes or moments of silence here. But don't get it twisted, they aren't rooting for each other:

"Am I gonna sit here and look you in the eye and say, 'I'm pulling for Michigan?" Izzo asked. "Well if I do that, or John Beilein (says he's pulling for Michigan State), we're both drinking something funny."

There is no love lost between the Michigan and Michigan State fans, and with only one game scheduled this year, tonight’s result will be the center of any trash talk for the next 12 months. An airing of grievances could go on forever. Michigan State fans will complain about the Fab Five "disrespecting" the Spartan block "S" in the middle of the Breslin Center. Michigan fans will complain about Izzo running up the score on Mateen Cleaves' senior night, 114-63. If you’re a fan of a team of either side of this rivalry, something over the last 15 or 20 years rips you apart -- for me its hearing thousands of Michigan State fans in Ann Arbor chanting “We Own Crisler” during the darkest days of Michigan basketball.

Tonight's Game

Tonight's game is huge for each program for very different reasons. Michigan State is looking to get the proverbial monkey off their back and win their first Big Ten Championship since 2001. Michigan is trying to shed the weight of the 1000 pound gorilla that is the NCAA tournament. Remember, Manny Harris was only 8 years old the last time Michigan made the dance. Michigan athletic director Bill Martin was quick to call the Duke win "a watershed event", but if Michigan can't win a few more games down the stretch it won't be anything more than a preview of the Michigan team we might see down the road.

What does Michigan have to do to get the win tonight? I posted a more traditional preview over on my website, UMHoops.com, where I do my best to cover this team year-round. 

Dylan Burkhardt's work can be found on his own site, UM Hoops, which can be found at www.umhoops.com. UM Hoops focuses on all aspects of Michigan basketball. If you are looking for more coverage of tonight's game make sure to check out his statistics-centric preview, interview with KJ of The Spartans Weblog, as well as KJ's interview.

Comments

baorao

February 10th, 2009 at 8:33 AM ^

If Michigan wins tonight we'll have really turned the corner in this rivalry, and the 2010 recruiting class will be our time take back the state.

(Did that sound as annoying as the Spartan football fans? Good.)

the_white_tiger

February 10th, 2009 at 10:40 AM ^

That sounded exactly like Michigan State Football fans, right down to the desperate scenarios that are unlikely to happen (unless you go 3-9...) State fans are the worst. Football or Basketball. I want to see some elbows flying. (not by Sims or Harris, more like Eric Puls or Anthony Wright). GO BLUE!

His Dudeness

February 10th, 2009 at 9:06 AM ^

I will be at a lowly, smoke filled bar watching this game with all of my Spartan friends (I have FAR too many) and we will get pounded (we seem to play worse at home for some reason or another) and I will be made fun of until the night closes in.

TomW09

February 10th, 2009 at 9:41 AM ^

Oh ye of little faith...

The Spartans have never won at Crisler in my time in school. Tonight I expect that trend to continue.

If you're joining me at Crisler tonight, be loud and wear maize. All you non-students need to get on you feet and get loud. The Rage can't be the only people making noise.

His Dudeness

February 10th, 2009 at 10:04 AM ^

experience. I was at the o$u game this year. THAT was fun...

I remember getting yelled at by some random red fan running down the street with no coat on. He just kept yelling "Now let's play some football!!!"

I like this team, but I will not be too optimistic with it for the rest of this season.

Yinka Double Dare

February 10th, 2009 at 11:05 AM ^

This team is like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates. You really never know what you're going to get. They can beat anyone in the country (we were right there with UConn even though Stu was the only guy who could hit an outside shot), get blown out, or come scary close to losing to a bad team (Savannah State, and to a lesser extent IU, who isn't remotely as terrible). And there's no way to predict it. Honestly -- who thought they were going to smoke Penn State by 20 the way our guys were playing and how hot PSU had been? Who thought we'd be within 4 on the road against the #1 team in the country inside 4 minutes to play, with a real chance of winning? And who thought we'd get beaten on our home floor so badly by Wisco and OSU?

Seriously, I have no clue what to expect out of the team in any given game. It's kinda fun and extremely maddening at the same time. All I know is we'll get killed on the boards tonight, beyond that it's anyone's guess.

mad magician

February 10th, 2009 at 11:11 AM ^

Every winter this is the rivalry that matters... in hockey.

In all seriousness, tonight's matchup is intriguing. It is for all purposes must-win for Michigan's NCAA tournament hopes. If they can win tonight it will build momentum heading into a stretch of winnable games against Iowa, Northwestern, Minnesota. Take 3 out of 4, say, and I think we're probably back inside the bubble. What gives me hope for tonight is State's lack of a serious post threat (Suton being a similar player to Peedi Sims). My concern is that State smothers us on D and forces us into a really bad shooting night. We're gonna need Stu or Novak or someone to hit some outside looks early.

Don

February 11th, 2009 at 12:27 PM ^

"My concern is that State smothers us on D and forces us into a really bad shooting night."

Although I'd point out that we hardly need to face a smothering D to have a really bad shooting night. This team has been a horrendously crappy shooting team for the last 1+ seasons (check the B10 stats for last year and so far this year.... yeesh), and having a good shooting night is a marked departure from the norm. To me, the mismatch between available talent and the offensive scheme is every bit as pronounced, if not moreso, for basketball as for football around here. Fugly. If they play like this in the NIT they won't get past the first round, and boy would that be a comedown.

BleedingBlue

February 10th, 2009 at 11:43 AM ^

Dylan you are a madman -
Great post! Awesome analysis of the rivalry. I'm pumped up for this game. If we can manage 38% from 3 point range and make our layups and stay under 12 turnovers this game is ours!

MaizeNBlueJ

February 10th, 2009 at 12:24 PM ^

"The Wolverines, 5-6 in the Big Ten, need at least a 9-7 regular-season Big Ten record and must avoid an early exit from the Big Ten tournament."

Another gem from Drew Sharp. I guess he missed the memo that the Big Ten now plays 18 conference games. Unbelievable.

volsfan08

February 10th, 2009 at 2:41 PM ^

any one read drew sharps on how this isn't a rivalry anymore?Please don't its a terrible article. Better yet read his article then this one and tell me who the better journalist is.