We are just over a week into Michigan State basketball practice, and Tom Izzo is already making headlines for how he’s challenging one of his new guys.
The Hall of Fame head coach has set a standard on the defensive side of the ball, and players who don’t meet that standard are usually punished with smaller roles. We’ve seen some guys struggle defensively over the years despite being really strong on offense, and that’s led to them seeing the floor less — it was what plagued Joey Hauser early in his MSU career.
Now, it looks like there’s another offensive weapon that may not be keeping the defensive standard at the guard position, and Izzo is already challenging him.
According to On3, Izzo was rather vocal this week about Fort not living up to that defensive standard, and he challenged him to be better.
Fort is expected to be one of the team’s top scorers this season, and he left Samford in scoring a year ago, but he needs to show that he can play defense effectively. The ability to defend would be enough to keep him on the floor even when he struggles offensively. If he struggles offensively and doesn’t have that defensive prowess, he’s going to be a net negative.
That has to change.
Luckily, there’s about a month until the Spartans take the floor for their first regular-season game, but he has to show a sense of urgency to improve on that end of the floor.
You can shoot the lights out of the ball, but if you can’t defend, you’re not going to see much of the floor under Izzo.