JEFF SEIDEL

Izzo: Michigan State doesn't understand 'it's a different season'

Spartans four freshmen struggled to deliver in Friday's Big Ten tournament loss to Minnesota

Jeff Seidel
Detroit Free Press Columnist

WASHINGTON – Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo was blunt.

“He just told me I’m not guarding anyone and I’m hurting the team,” Cassius Winston said. “He told me straight up. I gotta deal with it. I gotta fix it.”

So Winston sat at his locker in the Verizon Center on Friday afternoon, blaming himself after Minnesota’s 63-58 victory over the Spartans in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.

“I was a liability tonight,” Winston said. “I was hurting the team more than helping. It’s definitely tough. I just have to come into the next game focused.”

Michigan State guard Cassius Winston (5) and guard Lourawls Nairn Jr. (11) celebrate on the court in the closing seconds of MSU's 78-51 win over Penn State in the Big Ten tournament Thursday in Washington.

If nothing else, you have to appreciate his honesty.

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Winston, a freshman point guard, played just 12 minutes and didn’t score. It was the fewest minutes he has played since logging 11 against Ohio on Jan.15; and it was the first time he didn't score since the season opener against Arizona on Nov.11.

“He’s gotta play both ends of the court; he’s gotta get better;” Izzo said. “Cassius is going to be a very good player, but he has to realize that this is a game that’s played on both ends. He’s been making improvement. A lot of improvement. I didn’t think today was one of his better days but I don’t think today was one of my better days either.”

Winston wasn’t the sole reason why the Spartans lost this game. But Winston was symbolic of a team still learning how to put it all together.

No, more than that, MSU is learning how to keep it together. That’s the problem of relying on four freshmen.

They don’t know what they don’t know.

“Wasn't like we didn't care,” Izzo said. “I just don't think some of our young guys understand. Miles (Bridges) played okay. We didn't get much out of Nick (Ward) early. We didn't get anything out of Cassius. We got a lot better second half out of Josh (Langford) than first. I just don't think they understand yet that it gets ratcheted up. That's what these games are all about. We tried to warn them.”

There’s a big difference between talking about situations and having to live through them.

“Man, I got great kids,” Izzo said. “I got the greatest kids. I'm going to have to live with it. It's part of the process. I hate the process, but it is part of the process.”

That process is necessary, but it can drive you nuts.

“It's a learning lesson,” Izzo said.  “It seems like the whole damn year has been a learning lesson. We learned again today.”

So the Spartans end the Big Ten Tournament searching for their typical grit and hoping for a little more grind. They are looking for consistency while trying to maintain continuity.

But most of all, they still are learning to win consistently.

“Nobody understands about winning,” Izzo said. “It’s the AAU mentality. I felt like my team and me, myself, didn’t do a very good job of handling that. If it doesn’t hurt, if it doesn’t bother them, if they want to forget it today or tomorrow, I’m not gonna. I did not like the way we played. I didn’t like the way we competed today. I don’t think it’s because they didn’t wanna. I just don’t think they understand that it’s a different season. If we get into the next one, it’s an even different season.”

Related:

Michigan State notes: Cassius Winston, Nick Ward struggle defensively

They should get a next one.

Despite this loss, MSU should still be in the NCAA tournament.

“I don’t have any anxiety about Sunday,” Izzo said. “I’m so tired about hearing about bubbles.”

Because he has other things to worry about. Like all of those “my bads.”

When a player makes a glaring mistake, he usually taps his chest and goes “my bad.”

Before this tournament, Izzo said they had to get rid of them to have a chance.

But after Friday's game, just about every player was in that locker room, essentially tapping his chest and saying “my bad.”

Which is why they no longer are alive in this tournament.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/.