Following last season's loss to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, Tom Izzo spoke to the media about the future of Michigan State basketball and his plan to get the Spartans back to the top "or die trying".
Fans were hesitant to believe the Hall of Fame head coach because he hadn't made a ton of roster changes over the past few seasons which led to four straight disappointing seasons in which Michigan State barely snuck into the NCAA Tournament. It felt like he was making a promise that was too little and too late.
And when he went into the portal to address the major issue at center with Longwood transfer Szymon Zapala, many were even more enraged with the head coach.
Heck, I'll even admit that I thought this was an underwhelming move.
Zapala had started his career at Utah State, starting zero games over three seasons with the Aggies. He then transferred to Longwood for a season and averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game. It was nothing special, but he proved to be a solid big man for Longwood, starting in 24 of the team's 35 games.
I'll be honest, I didn't think he was going to be any better than a departing Mady Sissoko who fell short of expectations as a former four-star recruit in East Lansing.
But through 12 games (all starts), the 7-footer from Poland has proven to be everything fans had hoped for from a starting center. No, he's not putting up crazy numbers, but he's reliable on both ends of the floor and only needs to play 15-20 minutes. He's in a rotation with Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper and the trio has been getting the job done.
Zapala is averaging 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 67 percent from the floor. Sissoko's numbers are slightly better at Cal this season, averaging 6.9 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 68 percent from the floor, but he's also playing almost 10 more minutes per game than Zapala.
It's safe to say this switch at center worked for both Michigan State and Sissoko.
While he's not going to blow anyone away with double-doubles every night, Zapala has been the consistent force that the post has needed for years. He is the perfect bridge player at center.