I already put up two articles on what Coach Izzo had to say last Tuesday at MSU's Media Day event, but there are usually some loose ends that don't wind up fitting anywhere. In this case, coach had some interesting things to say about the exhibition game with Tennessee that is scheduled for October 29th in just a few short weeks. Here is what Izzo had to say:
"We have a closed (exhibition) with Tennessee that turned into an open one as it did a few years ago, when we played Georgia in Grand Rapids," Izzo said. "All the money will be donated to Maui, it'll be on TV, I think we're going to have some surprise people doing the game, it's going to be cool."
I thought the comment that I bolded above was interesting. I think that means that there will be some sort of guest play-by-play or color guys doing the game? I have not heard any rumors on that front, so this was news that I think went right over a lot of folks' heads. It will be interesting to see what comes of this comment.
"Rick's (Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes) a good friend of mine," Izzo continued. "Who knows what polls mean, but in some polls were both in the top five or six. So, I think it'll be as good a game that people are going to be able to see at Breslin against two similar, blue collars teams. It is going to be smash-mouth. We played down there last year, you know, without a couple of our guys, but it was a hell of a game. And I thought we'd get the rematch if we beat Kansas State and they beat (FAU). They lost and we lost, so we didn't get that. So that'll be a good game."
It does look like MSU is top five in most of the "too early" polls that I have seen and Tennessee is top 10, so that seems accurate. It is also kind of funny that Izzo references FAU more than once on Tuesday and never quite got the right team. I think that he referred to them as "FIU" or Florida International or maybe even just Florida, when, in fact, there are Florida Atlantic. Izzo finished up his comments on the topic with the following.
"The only negative when you play a game like that of that magnitude, is you want to keep in mind that the exhibition games are to give people a chance to play," Izzo said. "If the juices get going, and suddenly, you're worried more about winning the game than it doesn't become as good as learning. So, Rick and I are talking about that a little bit."
This part is what has intrigued me the most about this game. It was supposed to be a closed exhibition. In that format, the coaches can do whatever they want. They can stop the clock, they can experiment with weird line-ups, they can work on some situational things if they want. It is a free-for-all, basically, in a good way.
But now, it will be a televised spectacle. That is a good thing for the fans and for bringing attention and buzz to both programs, but I am not sure if it is the best for the development of each team. As Izzo alluded to, both coaches and players might take things a bit too seriously since the game in on TV for everyone (including poll voters and the selection committee) to see. It will not officially count in the standings, but it's not like the human beings watching can unsee it. The "winning team" will benefit and the "losing team" will suffer, at least nominally.
If I were Izzo or Barnes, I would make sure to structure the exhibition in a way such that it is not exactly a scrimmage. They should make a point to inject some "set pieces" like the twos-on-twos or all underclassmen or something to make it a little less game-like. Now, we don't want something like a Mel Tucker spring football game, but I think both coaches would benefit from obscuring things a bit, if that makes sense. They need to make sure that they get out of it what they want to go out of it without the "juices getting going" too much.
I am not exactly sure what that might look like, but I will be interested to find out.
"We have a closed (exhibition) with Tennessee that turned into an open one as it did a few years ago, when we played Georgia in Grand Rapids," Izzo said. "All the money will be donated to Maui, it'll be on TV, I think we're going to have some surprise people doing the game, it's going to be cool."
I thought the comment that I bolded above was interesting. I think that means that there will be some sort of guest play-by-play or color guys doing the game? I have not heard any rumors on that front, so this was news that I think went right over a lot of folks' heads. It will be interesting to see what comes of this comment.
"Rick's (Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes) a good friend of mine," Izzo continued. "Who knows what polls mean, but in some polls were both in the top five or six. So, I think it'll be as good a game that people are going to be able to see at Breslin against two similar, blue collars teams. It is going to be smash-mouth. We played down there last year, you know, without a couple of our guys, but it was a hell of a game. And I thought we'd get the rematch if we beat Kansas State and they beat (FAU). They lost and we lost, so we didn't get that. So that'll be a good game."
It does look like MSU is top five in most of the "too early" polls that I have seen and Tennessee is top 10, so that seems accurate. It is also kind of funny that Izzo references FAU more than once on Tuesday and never quite got the right team. I think that he referred to them as "FIU" or Florida International or maybe even just Florida, when, in fact, there are Florida Atlantic. Izzo finished up his comments on the topic with the following.
"The only negative when you play a game like that of that magnitude, is you want to keep in mind that the exhibition games are to give people a chance to play," Izzo said. "If the juices get going, and suddenly, you're worried more about winning the game than it doesn't become as good as learning. So, Rick and I are talking about that a little bit."
This part is what has intrigued me the most about this game. It was supposed to be a closed exhibition. In that format, the coaches can do whatever they want. They can stop the clock, they can experiment with weird line-ups, they can work on some situational things if they want. It is a free-for-all, basically, in a good way.
But now, it will be a televised spectacle. That is a good thing for the fans and for bringing attention and buzz to both programs, but I am not sure if it is the best for the development of each team. As Izzo alluded to, both coaches and players might take things a bit too seriously since the game in on TV for everyone (including poll voters and the selection committee) to see. It will not officially count in the standings, but it's not like the human beings watching can unsee it. The "winning team" will benefit and the "losing team" will suffer, at least nominally.
If I were Izzo or Barnes, I would make sure to structure the exhibition in a way such that it is not exactly a scrimmage. They should make a point to inject some "set pieces" like the twos-on-twos or all underclassmen or something to make it a little less game-like. Now, we don't want something like a Mel Tucker spring football game, but I think both coaches would benefit from obscuring things a bit, if that makes sense. They need to make sure that they get out of it what they want to go out of it without the "juices getting going" too much.
I am not exactly sure what that might look like, but I will be interested to find out.
