MSU freshman Marvin Clark showing potential
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Marvin Clark Jr. may take some time to carve out a consistent role on the floor for Michigan State, but he’s fully established in the weight room.
“He’s the strongest on the team,” MSU senior forward Branden Dawson said of the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Clark at Big Ten basketball media day Thursday.
“As a freshman,” MSU senior guard Travis Trice said.
“Once he figures out how to use his body, how to use his strength, he’s gonna be scary. Really scary,” Dawson said of Clark. “He really doesn’t know how to use his body and strength.”
It may take some time for Clark, of Kansas City, Mo., to fully find his game — he’s an uncertainty in the rotation with MSU less than three weeks from its Nov. 3 exhibition opener. But with a soft, lefty shot and about 10 bench reps of 225 — the powerful Dawson can do six — Clark is showing his potential for the Spartans, ranked No. 18 in the preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll released Thursday.
“His ability to shoot the ball is really gonna help him,” Trice said.
Clark was a high school teammate of MSU point guard Lourawls (Tum Tum) Nairn at Sunrise Christian in Wichita, Kan., and both came in ripped for freshmen. Both have made an impression, too.
“Tum’s kind of been like my shadow, really,” Trice said. “If I’m somewhere, he’s usually somewhere, too. Some people say, ‘Hey, is that weird? That’s the guy you’re competing with.’ And I don’t look at it like that. That’s my brother and I’d do anything for him.”
Trice said freshman wing Javon Bess is a “super-talented, do-it-all” player who can guard multiple positions. And he said walk-on freshman big man Kenny Goins may surprise and be a factor this season.
All of them have wowed Tom Izzo and the MSU veterans with their independent work ethic.
“Coming in my freshman year, if I had the same mind-set those guys have, things would be different,” Dawson said of blossoming earlier as a player.
MORE HAND ISSUES: Dawson missed nine games last season with a broken right hand and had a scare over the summer with his left hand. He said he came down hard on the hand after a finish at the rim, bending it backward. It ended up being just a sprain, he said, in a brace for three weeks.
MUDDLED IS ONE WORD: Asked about a “muddled” Big Ten race after consensus favorite Wisconsin, Izzo agreed — pointing out the wide range in schedules now that the Big Ten has 14 teams.
“With who you play once and where you play them, muddled up is a good word,” said Izzo, whose team was picked second after the Badgers by Big Ten media. “I’ve got a couple other words that mean the same thing. Not as many letters, but I think you spoke well about what you’re saying.”
The Badgers will miss a trip to East Lansing in 2014-15 for the second straight season. The teams play in Madison on March 1.
MR. BADGER: On a similar topic, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan was asked about bumping up from 18 to 20 Big Ten games now that the league has 14 teams.
“Let’s play 26,” Ryan said. “Ernie Banks said ‘Let’s play two,’ didn’t he? No, 20 would be great. Scheduling is so hard nowadays. I’ve said this before, so I’m not going to beat a drum here about scheduling, but … I think it would be great for the league if we could squeeze it in, if we could do it.”