Korie Lucious' Dismissal Puts Spartans in a Bind
Mike DeCourcy - SportingNews.com
Jan 26, 2011
In his first two seasons at Michigan State, Korie Lucious built a reputation as a big-game player and reached two Final Fours, but he'll not make it to a third this April.
His dismissal from the 2010-11 Spartans -- there's no word on whether he'll return next season -- not only ruins his junior season but also cripples the squad.
Coach Tom Izzo has been starting a three-guard lineup with seniors Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers joined by freshman Keith Appling in the backcourt. Up front, the starters are juniors Delvon Roe and Draymond Green.
Averaging 6.5 points and 4.1 assists, Lucious was a key reserve for the Spartans, allowing them to maintain the three-guard look rather than making a dramatic change to their approach when they went to the bench.
Lucious has been a better playmaker most of this season than Lucas, the team's primary point guard. Now, there essentially is no backup for Lucas. Appling, who has 23 assists and 28 turnovers, is the only player even marginally qualified to take over the position in Lucas' absence.
When Izzo substitutes, he'll either have to take the Spartans back to the bigger lineup with Green at small forward that began the season -- unsuccessfully -- or use a walk-on, Austin Thornton or Mike Kebler. Those two rarely score and are used primarily for defense.
The rest of Izzo's subs are centers: Adreian Payne, Garrick Sherman and Derrick Nix. He no longer has the sort of flexibility a coach ordinarily wants in order to keep players motivated and to adjust to opponents' styles.
And all this is happening with the Spartans standing at 12-7 overall, 4-3 in the Big Ten entering Thursday night's home game against Michigan.
One coach who has competed against Michigan State suggested the Spartans could "rally around” what happened with Lucious. Whether it was related to his eventual dismissal or not, Lucious performed horribly in recent games.
After making the tying 3-pointer to force overtime against Wisconsin, the essential moment in MSU's comeback victory, Lucious shot 3-of-23 in the next three games.
As a freshman, Lucious was an important reserve in the Spartans' run to the 2009 NCAA championship game, scoring 11 points in the national semifinal win over UConn. He scored 13 points in a second-round victory over Maryland last season, including the winning, top-of-the-key 3-pointer that beat the buzzer and the Terps.
Lucious showed the same big-moment comfort in scoring 20 points in the Spartans' road trip to then top-ranked Duke, where their five-point loss was considered by the coaching staff to be a sign of better things to come.
It wasn't, though. In any way.
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