Once Michigan State men's basketball has its annual “Grind Week," it means the season is inching closer.
"Grind Week" has become a staple of the offseason under head coach Tom Izzo. Many former players come back to East Lansing and participate in workouts, lifting sessions and scrimmages with the current squad.
Some former players that were in East Lansing this past weekend included Xavier Tillman Sr., Gary Harris, Miles Bridges, Draymond Green, Mateen Cleaves, Kalin Lucas and more.
"Grind Week" represents the fabric of what the Michigan State basketball program is built on. At its core, Izzo’s program is built on family, grit and toughness.
“The grit, calling it 'Grind Week,' I mean that’s who we are,” Izzo said to the media on Friday. “That’s who we are, that’s what Michigan State is. That’s what makes it special for me.”
"Grind Week" is something that Izzo looks forward and something that he wants to do each year. He described what it’s like seeing former players and current players mix it up on the court.
“Seeing all those guys, and then seeing them interact with our guys has been special,” Izzo said. “They lifted together. They kind of worked out together a little bit. Then they got to play next to each other.”
On Thursday, the current and former players mixed it up on the court. Izzo said that former Michigan State and current Orlando Magic guard Gary Harris “put a number on a few people.”
Izzo also talked about Kalin Lucas, who is currently playing overseas in Kuwait. Lucas and Tyson Walker “went at” each other in the scrimmage.
True freshman Coen Carr has been making noise since arriving in East Lansing, whether it be at the Moneyball Pro-Am or in social media clips from practice. Izzo said that Carr “dunked better” than some of the pro players that were back on campus.
Izzo spoke highly of the former four-star recruit and his development so far.
“Coen’s got a ways to go,” Izzo said about Carr. “He’s got to improve his shooting … I love him. He’s a great kid. He’s got a great family … Usually you get less than you think (with a highly-rated recruit). We got more than we thought (with Carr). Because he’s a worker, too. He’s in here every day working on his shooting.”
Izzo also gave an update on how the team as a whole has progressed throughout the offseason.
“All of our bigs have been better,” Izzo said. “Mady (Sissoko) is 16 pounds heavier and he looks great. Tyson (Walker has been) good. Jaden (Akins) has really shot the sugar out of the ball. That’s been important. A.J. (Hoggard) got his weight down and he’s been playing better. I think we got a lot of guys that are playing better. Nobody got worse over the summer, and that’s encouraging. And I think they’re really learning how to get together. They’ve really embraced those young guys.”
Preseason expectations are higher for this team than they’ve been for the past few MSU teams. That’s something that Izzo doesn’t shy away from and he embraces the hype.
“For me, this should be the norm,” Izzo said about the expectations. “The last two years, we haven’t had as high of expectations. I told them, ‘That’s not a good thing. So get used to what’s good and learn how to deal with it.’”
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On Friday, Izzo and the Michigan State men's basketball program held a free youth basketball camp for children from the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing. Former Spartan player Travis Walton, the current and former players and coaching staff worked with the second through sixth graders through stretches and drills inside the MSU practice facility.
“Our players are going to give back to the community,” Izzo said. “I think that’s really important because in this day in age, everybody is giving so much and there’s so many crazy things going on.”
"Grind Week" was sponsored by a joint venture between Health Alliance Plan (HAP) and CareSource.
“Dr. Mike Genord and HAP CareSource have been very instrumental in us being able to get this going again,” Izzo said. “To partner with somebody like them has been great for us. For our former players who came back, that means the world to me. And for our current players to learn how to do some things in our community, it’s kind of a win, a win, a win.”
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