I feel sick both mentally and physically. I wanted to win a National Championship so badly last night...it hurts. If you go out in the first round (a la George Mason), you hurt, but it's a disappointment hurt. You go out in the championship round, with that trophy forty minutes away from you...you just wonder when you'll ever get that golden opportunity again.
Watching last night's game though, obviously the better team did win. They were just too good. I remember on selection Sunday rocking back and forth on my couch saying out loud, "Put us anywhere than but with North Carolina, put anywhere than but with North Carolina...". If we were placed in UNC's draw, there's no way we'd be in the Final Four and have made the run we did. They just did not give anyone a chance all tournament long. They are a great team.
I do wish we could have played better, but I don't think the outcome would have been much different even if we did. You could point to a zillion different stats- from turnovers, to missed free-throws, to fast break points- they don't matter. We had some stage fright, went up against a great team, and lost. I can live with it.
I just hope nobody diminishes what we did to get to that National Championship game. We didn't get "lucky" getting there. Watching the Louisville and UConn games...we won those. We outplayed our competition. In crunch time against USC and Kansas, we made the plays. One game? Maybe a fluke. But five in a row, on the big stage...no sir. Jim Calhoun called this team "special", and I agree that it was. The Louisville and UConn games will forever be etched in my minds as masterpieces. I have never seen Spartan teams play as well as they did. And I will remember them the next time MSU is in the underdog role in future NCAA tournaments, and I will remember just how well Tom Izzo teams can play when it matters.
So while it hurts today, I am happy for a fantastic run. I am ecstatic that Walton and Suton (and Ibok and Gray) got to go out on a run like this, finishing in Detroit. I am excited to think about next year, with Lucas, Morgan, Allen, and Summers back and our three amazing freshmen another year older (although the Big Ten is going to be TOUGH). This team still has a chance to do more special things in the future.
I love my Spartans.
~Mikey D
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From a Detroit News article on whether Lucas will be back next year:
Childhood friend and teammate Durrell Summers expects Lucas to return next season because both players have several more goals to accomplish.
A Final Four trip in their hometown of Detroit and opportunity to play for a national championship generates more hunger for success, Summers said.
"K and I always say we're champions," Summers said. "We're going to cut those nets down one of these days."
"We're not going to do anything else until that happens."
I like it.
Nice video. This was definitely a special team.
We have a lot of players returning next year, and this had to be a great learning experience for them. MSU should be strong again next year.
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