Manny Harris has got moxie: “I hear a lot of stories about the Izzone and how crazy it is, but I just look at it as an opportunity and fun. We haven’t really had a chance to shut a student section up at the end of a game, but we have a perfect opportunity to go there, win and leave them with some sad faces.” Ron Coleman probably won’t play; Chris Allen is dealing with a groin pull but expected to play.
Harris and Lucas: “We are fa-mi-ly . . .”
Andy Katz joins the chorus calling for Neitzel to shoot more.
I read that first article earlier this morning. I realize he (and everyone else for that matter) is simply being diplomatic, which is good. But the Izzone is objectively one of the loudest, craziest student sections in the country. The only other that is more consistently loud and pumped up is Duke’s. State’s really does rival theirs, and most others don’t come close.
Harris was absolutely shut down today by Travis Walton and company. A mostly good effort by all involved. I would have liked to see Gray in the game more. An article on MLive says Izzo pulled him because he was getting too worked up? I didn’t see that he did anything out of line, inappropriate, etc. That’s when Gray is at his best. Watching IU yesterday, UCONN had their way inside, despite DJ White. If we want to truly put it to the Hoosiers in a few weeks, we will need Gray in the game and fired up as much as possible. I typically tend to agree (even if not right away) with Izzo’s actions, but this one I questioned, if that’s really what was going on. Regardless, this was a great game, and a good whooping. Nice job, little brother.
My take on Izzo pulling Gray: It was a great dunk, but we know he can dunk. Despite playing better, he still made some mental errors today. A couple minutes before the dunk, for example, he stepped in the lane too early on a free throw attempts. Plus I think Izzo didn’t want to rub this one in Beilein’s face too much.
I didn’t realize it was Gray who stepped into the paint on that free throw. That call irritates me because it’s never consistently made. There are players who waltz their way through the lane before the ball’s released all the time, never getting called for it. But I digress.
I think Izzo did well by taking the high road and not drubbing this into a 30-point affair. UM never gave up, though, keeping their main guys on the floor until the very end. I still think Gray needs to see more floor time and getting him fired up is not a bad thing. I understand that, as a coach, you can’t have a powder keg out on the floor, but Gray feeds off that emotion and I think it’s essential not to squelch it. He’ll need to be on the floor against IU, along with the rest of our bigger line-up, as that’s been a gaping weakness at times for the Hoosiers. Seeing Walton’s performances against UM’s Harris, Texas’s Augustin, Ohio State’s Butler, Wisconsin’s Tucker last year, I think he’ll somewhat neutralize Gordon into the low teens in scoring. Our bigs will be key to complete the defensive effort. A good test will be Illinois in a couple of nights, whose inside men aren’t pushovers either.