12/16/2023 0 Comments Foster loyer one shining moment“Right now he makes the right decisions and doesn’t miss a shot,” Izzo said. Especially considering this roster construction, Michigan State can’t afford to have a good 3-point shooter swallow shots. Loyer knows that if he’s on the floor, he has to shoot. This, Izzo says, will change this season. Countless times the ball found its way to an open Loyer with the MSU bench yelling, “Shooooooot!” only to see him hesitate and dribble, or hesitate and pass. He went 7-for-21 in Big Ten games, putting up only 1.1 attempt while playing 6.4 minutes per conference game. Loyer went 18-of-40 on 3s as a sophomore, but that included a 7-for-8 performance in back-to-back games against Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan last December. I think as he continues to play, you’re going to see how good of a decision-maker he is, and how well he can make plays, and how well he can get people involved, because he has an unbelievable IQ.” Not too many people can see the game in that way. Like, Foster can make a play and he sees it as if he’s a coach on the bench watching the game. “I’ve never really been around a point guard that can actually see the game as if he’s on the outside looking in. “He’s able to pick apart the game,” said Langford, who is serving as a co-captain with Loyer and Henry. Instead, he needs to carve out his role and make everyone else better.Īs Langford explains it, if Loyer’s play can simply catch up with his mind, he’ll be just fine. With Joshua Langford and Watts occupying guard rolls, Aaron Henry on the wing and Joey Hauser as a stretch big man, the pieces are there to utilize a point guard who can set the table and make open 3s when available. Michigan State has enough talent that it doesn’t necessarily need a Winston-esque, ball-screen-heavy, ball-dominant point guard. It’s up to me to own that and build going forward.” You know, that’s not something that I look back on and I regret and it’s not something that I look back on at and I’m mad at anyone but myself. “I think each and every day you just have to have the mindset of continuing to get better and continuing to learn. “For me, it’s about owning the position that I’ve been in and that I’ve put myself in, and try to improve that, and I think I’ve done a dang good job of that,” Loyer said Monday when asked about moving forward from his first two seasons. This all stands as the preface to a pivotal season. If Loyer is going to validate himself not only as a captain, but also as a player, he’ll need to play and play well. Leading from the bench and leading from the court, though, are two different things. He’s looked at as a leader of this team, one that’s replacing not only Winston, but also Xavier Tillman. What’s most interesting about his place in the program is that, totally overshadowing the din of criticisms out there, Loyer has been voted a team captain for this season by those in the Michigan State locker room. This isn’t lost on anyone, notably Loyer’s teammates. Whereas Loyer’s first two years amounted to opportunity offered mostly by default (he was MSU’s lone true backup point guard), now the Spartans genuinely have a potential role for him.Īs Izzo put it during a recent interview: “We undoubtedly need him.” Sophomore guard Rocket Watts is a rising star and earmarked as the Spartans’ point guard for 2020-21, but won’t have nearly the vise grip on point-guard minutes that Winston had. The 21-year-old is past the midpoint of his college career and, after two years behind all-everything starting point guard Cassius Winston, his junior year offers a pathway to some legitimate playing time. If it’s going to happen, that time needs to be now. When it comes to Loyer, this is the juxtaposition.Īs a college basketball player, at some point, who Loyer is and how Loyer plays has to find a middle ground. Everyone at Michigan State will tell you he’s someone you want on your team. His struggles have never been for lack of effort and his teammates admire his determination. He’s the consummate coach’s son, always saying the right thing, doing the right thing. Yet, through it all, Loyer has responded with admirable maturity. He’s scored 146 points in 67 career games, handed out 61 assists, committed 34 turnovers, and struggled to get his bearings defensively. His play hasn’t done much to dissuade the scrutiny. Whatever it is, Loyer’s first two seasons in East Lansing have been nitpicked to death by everyone from fans to media to his own head coach, Tom Izzo.
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