Michigan State's Russell Byrd wants to become 7 o'clock shooter, with or without 5 o'clock shadow

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For Michigan State's Russell Byrd, the struggle has become more mental than physical.

(Gillian Van Stratt | MLive.com)

EAST LANSING - Right now, Michigan State's Russell Byrd is a 3 o'clock shooter with a 5 o'clock shadow.

Tom Izzo isn't pleased with either, but he can only control one of them.

"Izzo wasn't too happy about the beard," said Byrd, whose offseason mission was a makeover in more ways than one. "He doesn't like beards, I guess. It got long enough to where he said, 'You need to shave that.'"

Of course, if Byrd is able to finally resurrect his shot, Izzo may look past the beard for sake of the box score. That was the real reason for Byrd's summer getaway to California. After a career of surgeries and struggles, it was Byrd's best shot at fixing the problem.

"Russell Byrd (is) much healthier, much more confident," Izzo said Tuesday during the Spartans' 2013 media day. "It's a matter of whether he can come back after the three surgeries and become the shooter that I recruited. You think back, and those surgeries all came from his high school injury, and it's been tough on him. He's definitely shooting the ball better.

Michigan State's Russell Byrd has faced the same questions for a long time.

"But there is a thing called a 3 o'clock shooter, a practice shooter and a game shooter, so some of that we'll find out as the games come."

Last season was Byrd's third year in the program but his first injury-free season since undergoing three surgeries on his left foot between May 2010 and May 2011.

Overcoming the long gap of not playing the game was enough of a hurdle. But adding the burden of being a team captain who rode the bench pushed that struggle from physical over to mental.

"He's right, though," Byrd said of Izzo's commentary. "Gotta go out there and be a 9 p.m., ESPN, live TV shooter. Izzo tries to create that atmosphere. I've been in high pressure situations before. I've been playing this game a long time. I just got to get back there. It's all mental. From here on out it's all mental. It's in my head. I got to be mentally tough and mentally strong and confident. If I'm confident, I'll hit shots. If I'm not confident, I'll miss shots.

"Before I got here, I never struggled with that. And then when I took that time off because of the injuries and came back, it's just been an issue. But I think I'm getting better. I'm getting a lot better."

Byrd averaged 7.5 minutes a game and shot just 17.1 percent from long range last season. While the respect from his coach and teammates was on the rise, so were his shooting woes. The dichotomy warranted a trip out of town, a mental reset.

"Yeah, that is the truth," said Byrd, who was under the wing of a close family friend and trainer in Santa Clarita, Calif. "I got to reset kind of on and off the court. It was good to get away. I worked a lot of my game. Out there I was playing really good. But I got to perform here too, not just out in California. I got to perform here."

The jumper isn't the only thing he worked on. In Lansing's Moneyball Pro-Am summer basketball league, Byrd showed off a new California-made crossover and unveiled a little finger roll in the lane. The moves were put on summer league defense, but it helped Byrd build confidence.

"Hopefully we can change it to 5 o'clock shadow, 7 o'clock shooter," he said.

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