The Fall of the Spartans

There is one question being asked in East Lansing... What the Hell is going on?!?!?

The fans have watched their preseason national championship favorite Michigan State Spartans, who started off number two in the country, have collapsed and fallen apart beyond repair.

Maybe they aren't as good as we thought they were? Well clearly they're not, but there is more to it than this. There are many theories out there, and of course I have my own.

Hondo has said on his show that there is a lot of turmoil going on with this team, and ever since he's pointed this out, it's become blatantly obvious to me as well that there is something going on behind the scenes. Players to coaches, coaches to players, players to players and coaches to coaches, it just seems like everyone is caught up in the turmoil.

What's going on with the Spartans goes beyond just not having enough talent. They aren't as good as we all thought, that's clear. They have no low post game and that really hindered the Spartans early on in the season, before everything fell apart as bad as it has.

This team has fallen apart. But why? It has all the talent in the world. Is it Izzo? Is it the players?

Frankly both deserve some of the blame. But here's what I think...

I think that Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers coming back was a nightmare in disguise. It's something I never would have considered until I heard multiple people on Hondo's show, most recently Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press, say this exact same thing.

But how can two guys of such great talent hurt the team by coming back? They don't want to be there. They both were going to make the jump to the NBA after last season, whether or not they would have been drafted, but Kalin suffered the ankle injury in the NCAA tournament. They both were gone. Durrell goes where Kalin goes, and if Lucas didn't get hurt, they were NBA bound.

Having two senior "leaders" back that don't want to be there hurts the team in so many ways. Having anyone there that doesn't want to be there hurts morale, but having two "leaders" and two of your best players there that clearly don't want to be there is enough to kill any team.

I think Lucas and Summers's attitude combined with the bad losses have led to the team as a whole quitting. I don't see any effort from the team, they constantly and consistently look sluggish. They're playing with no pride right now and it shows.

But not all the blame goes onto the players, the coaches also have to take blame here. It is the coaches job to unite a team, to get a team to play together as a unit, and Izzo is not doing that. But I also feel like Izzo's making game-plan and strategy mistakes, beyond just the inner turmoil of this team.

Yes, Izzo deserves some blame for the turmoil, but let's look at in game coaching for a moment. Why doesn't State work the post more? Why is Draymond allowed to constantly spot up? Why doesn't Garrick Sherman get more playing time? These are questions I've had all season long and it doesn't make sense to me. They need to get a post game working, and they aren't even trying to get one going.

The season is done. They cannot salvage this season. Too many tough games are left on the schedule and this team is showing no signs of improvement. They're last two losses are by a combined 46 points, which includes a 20 point loss to Iowa, the worst team in the Big Ten.

This season is a disaster, and that's being polite. There isn't a lack of talent, but a lack of leadership, a lack of pride. And that's why the Spartans find themselves in a tail spin, with no signs of righting the ship.Stick a fork in em, cuz they're done.