This is an article from the Detroit Free Press about the Michigan State players taking ownership of their team by planning a team outing:LANSING -- Folks at Michigan State usually have big smiles on their faces when they turn the calendar to March. After all, the Spartans have gone 54-21 during March under coach Tom Izzo since after the 1997-98 season.
Izzo was more excited to discuss what his team did in late February while meeting with the media Monday.
In past seasons, Izzo has come up with something out of the ordinary -- having players wear football pads or smashing game tapes -- that is looked back on as a defining moment in the year.
The players might have created their own defining moment this season Friday when they suggested having a team sleepover at the Breslin Center as a way of coming together before the most important time of year. It was their idea, and everyone -- including Izzo and his staff -- bought in.
The idea emerged from a discussion with players Raymar Morgan, Draymond Green, Isaiah Dahlman and Kalin Lucas while watching film comparing their first game against Purdue this season with film against the Boilermakers from the previous season.
"Like Raymar (Morgan) said, there was no sound on the film and you could see there was more communication and togetherness" on the tape from the previous season, Izzo said. "Draymond said, 'We gotta do something off the wall.' "
Green then suggested the sleepover, but not at someone's house. He wanted to have it on the main court. Student managers, equipment managers, the players and coaches all showed up.
They played video games, checkers, ate pizzas and then went to bed around 2 a.m. in sleeping bags on the hardwood.
"It was one for my book if I ever write one 20 years from now," Izzo said. "I've never seen anything like that. In my high school, we all lived so close together it was like having a sleepover every night.
"Kalin right away jumped up and said, 'Yeah, that's a great idea.' And Zeke (Dahlman) said, 'Yeah, we'll have a tournament of checkers and Xbox and ping-pong.'
"Was it good for us from a back standpoint? Probably not. Was it good for us from a rest standpoint? Probably not. Was it good for us from a togetherness standpoint? One of the great team-building events, and the best part is it goes back to my original thing I've believed in my whole career here: It was a player decision."
And while Izzo loves the fact that people around the department and campus feel excited at this time of year, he wants to make sure his team understands they have to do their part to build on the program's past success.
"I do think we have a good system in March," Izzo said. "I do think our managers get excited in March. They know they're going to have to work more hours and be in there more on film. But, the games are not won by me, the secretaries, the managers or anybody else.
"Players have to realize the respect they gain in March is earned by what they do and not by the guys that did it before them. That is maybe the one factor for this team -- there's a bit of entitlement."
