Michigan State Basketball: Panic or patience through two games?

Why we should be patient right now

Spartan fans, we are officially six percent through the season. If we were 33 percent through the season, I would worry. But there is no viable way to judge a team when they have played six percent of their schedule. It’s like judging Michigan State football through three quarters of their first game. OK, that might be a bad example but three-fourths of the first game is such a terrible sample size.

Plus, Spartan fans always talk about what the team does in March. That’s still four months away. So much will be discovered and corrected after watching film and really getting to the root of the early issues plaguing this team. This is a Tom Izzo team we are talking about. As mentioned before, the threes will start dropping.

The looks are wide open and history shows Tyson Walker, Jaden Akins, and AJ Hoggard can hit them with consistency. The alley-oops will also come with practice and better chemistry. There are athletes all over the court who have plenty of time to grow together.

Another reason I’m not panicking is because when the defense is clicking, it looks elite. Steals are up (8.0 per game, so far), blocks are up (4.5 per game, so far) and the team as a whole forced the Screaming Eagles into some really tough shots early. Clean up the defensive rebounding, and it could be the calling card of this team and keep them in games when the offense stalls.

The return of Jaxon Kohler will help with that.

The early-season experience that Carson Cooper (who I think will be the best big on the team at season’s end) will help. The freshmen will not look like freshmen in short order with the flashes we have seen from them plus the coaching expertise of Tom Izzo.

I know Spartan fans are so desperate for a winner and I’m right there with you. But I’m perfectly fine with these mistakes being made now versus a maddening, winnable game against Creighton with a Final Four berth on the line.