Michigan State Hoops Lands Former Recruit Joey Hauser
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo says the Spartans recruited Hauser out of high school and are familiar with him. Hauser said in a statement that he can't wait to take this next step in his career.
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Michigan State coach Tom Izzo says the Spartans recruited Hauser out of high school and are familiar with him. Hauser said in a statement that he can't wait to take this next step in his career.
The school announced Wednesday it received a letter of intent from Watts, who attends SPIRE Academy in Ohio and is from Detroit. He joins 6-foot-8 forward Malik Hall in Tom Izzo's recruiting class.
Michigan State will have to replace departing seniors Matt McQuaid and Kenny Goins, who will be missed for their outside shooting, defense and leadership.
This season might be remembered as the best coaching job in Izzo's long career at Michigan State, reaching his eighth Final Four with a short-handed team that lost two underclassmen to the pros last year. It has also been an emotional time for the Hall of Fame coach.
Dick Bennett's fingerprints will be all over this year's NCAA Tournament. The former longtime coach has ties to three of the four coaches in Minneapolis this week, one by blood.
"I never thought he could become what he is becoming," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "And, I still think he still has a big ceiling of where he can get. He has changed his body a lot."
Beilein and Izzo are friendly rivals whose highly ranked teams will play for the first time this season on Sunday at Crisler Arena with Big Ten title and NCAA Tournament seeding implications.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo called it grit. Perhaps no Spartan embodied that more Tuesday night than his point guard.
"Michigan State is a great team, and Tom is a great coach," Underwood said. "They're everything I want to be."
Cassius Winston began with a 16-plus-minute scoreless stretch but finished with 23 points, helping the Spartans pull away to beat the Boilermakers 77-59 on Tuesday night.
The Spartans have surged to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 with eight straight victories, including an 86-77 win against then-No. 14 Ohio State on the road Saturday.
Last season, Tom Izzo wanted to leave Nick Ward in New Jersey after a poor game against Rutgers.
Michigan State does not have the stars it did last season, when Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson did enough to end up becoming top NBA picks.
The Spartans embraced championship-or-bust expectations throughout the season, and Izzo did little to dial down the hype.
The 63-year-old Izzo is bullish on restoring the university's good image.
There's an expectation among some Spartan fans that the 18-year-old Jackson will return for his sophomore season.
"He's absolutely one of the great coaches we've ever had. And I think he's even better off the court."
The sophomore led all players with 29 points and nine rebounds in Michigan State's first-round win over Bucknell.
Thomas later walked off the court with tears in his eyes.
From mid-range, Langford was lethal.
"The three best to do it in Bucknell history."
"Now we're at the point, I guess in my career, where we didn't win by enough."
The new mantra is in place.
As the ball was in the air, Winston said time slowed down.
It's not how you start, as the saying goes, it's how you finish.
