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Michigan State Basketball: 5 reasons Spartans can contend without Josh Langford

By Connor Muldowney

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 06: Tom Izzo the head coach talks with Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 06: Tom Izzo the head coach talks with Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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LINCOLN, NE – JANUARY 17: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans coaches against head coach Tim Miles of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 17, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE – JANUARY 17: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans coaches against head coach Tim Miles of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 17, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

1. Tom Izzo has been in this position before

If you think this is the first time Tom Izzo has had to face a major injury to one of his stars, you haven’t been paying close attention to the Hall of Famer’s career in East Lansing.

Back in 2010 when the Spartans had one of their best teams, star point guard Kalin Lucas went down with a torn Achilles in the NCAA Tournament. That was an extreme panic situation, but Korie Lucious led the Spartans to a Final Four anyways as Izzo and his team adjusted to the loss.

Branden Dawson went down with a torn ACL before, Delvon Roe had bad knees his entire career and, more recently, Denzel Valentine missed about a month with an injury back in 2015-16.

And if that’s not enough proof that Izzo can succeed through big injuries, Mateen Cleaves missed about two months with a stress fracture back in 1999-2000 and the Spartans went on to win the national title — oh yeah, and he suffered an ankle sprain in the national title game and still came back to lead the Spartans to victory, limping every step of the way.

Next. MSU football: 5 reasons to be optimistic about 2019 season. dark

Michigan State is 7-1 without Josh Langford, 2-1 without Matt McQuaid and 2-1 without Kyle Ahrens. He knows how to adjust and has shown this in years past and will do so again.

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