Michigan State entered the 2013-14 season with extremely high expectations as one of the picks to win it all. With that being said, the incoming recruiting class was not expected to make a big splash right away. However, as the years went one each player made some form of impact and while it wasn’t a dominant class it had it’s bright spots. And there’s still time for it to improve its stock with one player from the class still on the roster.
Source: BT Powerhouse
Michigan State was a team led by freshman, but injuries throughout the season caused any veteran leadership the Spartans had to disappear. Eron Harris, Tum Tum Nairn, Alvin Ellis III and Matt Van Dyk all contributed in different ways so let’s hand out grades to the Spartan upperclassmen.
Source: isportsweb
Nothing this season ended the way any of Michigan State’s seniors had hoped. But Alvin Ellis rode the wild wave until the end, much like he did his entire four-year career. The senior shooting guard went just 1-for-6 for two points and one rebound in his final game as a Spartan, Sunday’s 90-70 loss to No. 1 seed Kansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Ellis reflected on what he was feeling, and it sounded like the finality of his college career had started to sink in. “It’s hurting me right now,” he said in the locker room. “Ending as a senior like that, it’s definitely hurting me. I wish I had a few more minutes. Hopefully, it’ll go away later on, but it’s hurting right now.”
Source: Land of 10
The video should start at the Michigan State Press Conference. If not, go to 2:15:00. There is a break and Izzo will start at 2:35:00.
Michigan State’s freshman class has received a lot of attention from media and fans this season. But without the play of Alvin Ellis III, MSU’s lone healthy four-year senior, the Spartans wouldn’t be playing in their 20th straight NCAA Tournament.
Matt McQuaid remembers the moment vividly. It was last March 18 when No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee State led No. 2 Michigan State by nine points with 5.1 seconds left in the first, and last, game for the Spartans in the NCAA Tournament. McQuaid and Kyle Ahrens, both freshmen, ran up opposite sidelines as the Spartans raced for the final shot of the game, however unnecessary.
Source: Land of 10
Only one player knows his next loss will be his final game at Michigan State. And Alvin Ellis is trying to pass along that urgency to his young teammates. “I just gotta keep stressing to them that it’s one-and-done time,” the senior guard said Sunday. “We gotta have that same mentality we had going into the Big Ten tournament. The first game could be our last game, and we don’t want that to happen.”
Source: Detroit Free Press
Joshua Langford had a nice game Thursday for Michigan State in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament. Langford did not have one of his better days Friday when the Spartans bowed out. Langford and his teammates may not have many lifelong memories from these two games in the nation’s capital. They might have some from earlier in the trip, though.
Source: Land of 10
Michigan State basketball has gotten production from multiple players since Eron Harris went down with injury, but can any of them be relied upon in the postseason?
Source: Spartan Avenue
First, Eron Harris’ mom regaled the sellout crowd with the most soulful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner in Breslin Center history. And as Marveda Saunders sang a cappella late Sunday afternoon, tears streamed from Harris’ eyes. He had mentioned last week that his mother, a former high school coach, had “a beautiful voice” and had performed the anthem in the past before a few of her games. But, he didn’t give it a second thought.
The Spartans (17-11, 9-6) will say farewell to three seniors on Saturday when they host No. 16 Wisconsin (22-6, 11-4) at 4 p.m. at the Breslin Center (CBS).
Source: MLive
Alvin Ellis drove to the basket and got fouled. It was a strong beginning to his first start for Michigan State in two years. Then all of the nerves and jitters caught up to him. Two turnovers, a rebound and a steal later, he was headed back to the sideline. That’s where Tom Izzo gave Ellis an earful, nose-to-nose, after he took a seat.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Michigan State will honor three outgoing seniors on Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center, capping what can only be called an unlikely journey for each.Following a critical matchup with No. 16 Wisconsin that tips at 4 p.m., the Spartans will go through their traditional ceremony, paying tribute to seniors Alvin Ellis, Eron Harris and Matt Van Dyk. It’s a ritual coach Tom Izzo moved postgame several years ago.
Source: Detroit News
A young team combined with a string of injuries has resulted in a unique situation for Michigan States basketball program this season. Through the adversity, one particular player has stepped up in a big way to ensure his last year wearing the Green and White will be one that counts. “He’s got what we lack – he’s got some toughness,” said Coach Tom Izzo of senior guard Alvin Ellis III, following MSU’s conference opening overtime victory at Minnesota. “I’m happy for him, I’m actually proud of him. He took a challenge, he responded, and that’s kind of what you hope guys will do.
Eron Harris’ season-ending knee injury opens a job in Michigan State’s starting lineup. Alvin Ellis says he doesn’t care whether he gets it. Matt McQuaid doesn’t, either. But both shooting guards are in line for more minutes over the final four games of the regular season and beyond.
Source: Detroit Free Press
How to replace Eron Harris? Tom Izzo counts the ways Detroit Free Press
Coach Tom Izzo thinks Alvin Ellis has worked his way into Michigan State’s starting lineup, but there remain a lot of ways he could approach the rest of the season without shooting guard Eron Harris. He could keep Ellis, his last remaining senior, coming off the bench, a role in which Ellis has thrived. It could mean starting Matt McQuaid again. It could mean more minutes at shooting guard for Joshua Langford.
Facing another new rotation, Tom Izzo is ‘leaning toward’ Alvin Ellis III as a starter MLive
Tom Izzo has trotted out eight different starting lineups this season. No. 9 might come on Thursday. With Eron Harris out with a season-ending injury, Izzo is left sifting through the options of who to start in this week’s home game against Nebraska (12-14, 6-8 Big Ten).
MSU could turn to Ellis, McQuaid to replace Harris Detroit News
While Eron Harris gave an impassioned speech to his teammates and coaches on Sunday night, the bigger issue for coach Tom Izzo and his staff is figuring out where Michigan State goes from here. Harris, who injured his right knee on Saturday at Purdue and will require surgery that will keep him out the rest of the season, started 24 of 27 games this season and replacing him will be the next task.
Izzo using this week to figure out how to replace Eron Harris Spartan Tailgate
Michigan State senior Eron Harris started 24 of 27 games he appeared in this season, including each of the last 12. But Thursday when the Spartans host Nebraska, there will be a new starter in his place, as Harris’ college career ended Saturday in West Lafayette after he sustained a serious knee injury that will require surgery. The original diagnosis from MSU was a badly sprained knee for Harris. He will undergo surgery in the next three or four weeks after the swelling goes down, and head coach Tom Izzo said they’ll have a better indication then of the exact injury.
Alvin Ellis didn’t do anything different in his pregame routine or eat something special for his pregame meal. The Michigan State wing didn’t do anything he normally wouldn’t do before taking the floor against Ohio State on Tuesday and drilling five straight 3-pointers in a span of less than four minutes.Ellis just went out and played his game as a senior who knows there are only so many opportunities to do so left.
Source: Spartan Tailgate