Mikey D

From Joe Rexrode, LSJ:

'It's a somber story for Allen, who made such strides on the court as a junior while apparently losing sight of his priorities off it. It's a major plot twist for Izzo's 2010-11 team, which may have been his deepest collection of talent yet with Allen on board. This can still be a great team, but there are more uncertainties.

For Izzo, that was a question for another day.'

"I have no idea," he said of how this will affect the team on the court. "The last thing I thought about was my team today."

“It’s kind of sad, to be honest with you," Izzo said. "But you’ve got to just realize things have got to change sometimes.”'

***

Rumors are that Allen might possibly end up at USF with Tom Herzog and former MSU assistant (and now head coach) Stan Heath. Seems like a logical fit, and with Allen walking the fine line the last few months, I imagine Izzo has spoken (and Allen as well) to Heath numerous times to try to set something up. Of course this is all rumor, but if you think about Allen's press release he gave last night, it all seemed a little too nice and amicable...like this wasn't a shocking move by Izzo at all. Allen's departure seems like a mild surprise to only us fans.

Is our team better off? Well, how much is chemistry worth to a team? One high school coach who runs an open gym in the summers in the Lansing area said that Lucious, Summers, and Appling have been playing together a lot and are tearing it up (take it for what it's worth). Obviously last year was a difficult year due to inconsistencies and lack of unity (as well as the injuries). Does that mean we'll be more consistent and unified? Eh, maybe. Hopefully. You know Lucas and Summers will be focused, this being their senior years and with NBA aspirations. Draymond will be his usual vocal self, and we have a nice core of young guys that will blend in nicely with the vets. The leadership is there, and the pieces seem to be there still.

But we still lost our most consistent three-point threat, and our best defensive stopper. That's gotta hurt a little.

I just feel bad for Allen, because like Rexrode said, he really did come a long way last year. This could have definitely been a breakout year for the guy and he could have been a key cog in a our MSU basketball machine. It's too bad whatever he did off the court- and we still don't know that- kept him from becoming something great on it.

Best of luck, Chris. You're still (and always will be) a Spartan to me.

~Mikey D