MSU's Neitzel is knocking them down

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It will only get tougher from here, the defense, the physical fatigue, the pressure.

Drew Neitzel is vulnerable. But at this point Neitzel's junior season at Michigan State is remarkable - especially considering his change of position and transformation of mindset.

"He is definitely having one of the great years," said MSU coach Tom Izzo, and Izzo has a grasp for what that means after 24 years in East Lansing.

"Jud asked Magic to sell popcorn and coach the team," Izzo said of former coach Heathcote and former star Johnson. "And Drew probably has to do more than Magic did."

That means lead vocally, defend doggedly, play all but a few seconds of every game, hit all the big shots and make the right pass when the shot isn't there. When MSU (13-3 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) plays at Indiana (9-4, 0-1) today, Neitzel's bottom line will be the best individual barometer of success, as usual.

Yet for a guy who spent his first two seasons in East Lansing deferring and passing, that two-ton weight on his back is accepted - perhaps even welcomed.

"I'm having a lot of fun," said Neitzel, who leads MSU and is fourth in the Big Ten with 18.4 points per game, a 222 percent increase from last season. "It is a lot of pressure, and coach is expecting a lot out of me, but this is what you want as a player."

Some players, though, don't necessarily want to change positions halfway through their college careers.

A point guard all his life, controlling the ball and taking shots off the dribble, Neitzel is primarily a shooting guard this season, running without the ball to get open, then taking quick-release shots off the catch. He's a quarterback turned receiver. And the process was anything but simple.

"It's some work, no doubt about it," said MSU assistant coach Mark Montgomery, a former MSU point guard who works closely with Neitzel. "What people don't understand is, he's at a whole new position. It's a whole different mentality and totally different reads. He's used to seeing the floor from the (top of the key), and now he's on the baseline reading the defense that way."

And defenses are reading him back.

One to two

It's very much like a game of tag at recess, this relentless exercise shooters and their pursuers share. In MSU's 62-60 loss Thursday at Iowa, Neitzel was chased, bumped and at times grabbed by Iowa guard Mike Henderson.

Neitzel missed eight of his first nine shots, getting extra attention even when Iowa went to a zone defense. Midway through the second, with Henderson getting a breather on the bench, Neitzel lost backup Tony Freeman twice in a row and nailed jump shots. Henderson popped right back off the bench.

Neitzel ended up scoring 17 of his 20 points in the final 10 minutes, adjusting to Iowa's aggressiveness by driving the ball. He missed a long 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds that would have tied the game.

"If I want to be a big-time player, I've got to hit those shots," Neitzel said. "They were pressuring on me and I kind of settled on jumpers in the first half. I've got to be more aggressive than that."

All season, Montgomery and fellow assistant Jim Boylen have been helping Neitzel improve via film study. Every one of his shots is recorded and broken down - the overall execution of the play, Neitzel's work in getting open, his form.

That has helped Neitzel, but the live game action is most valuable.

"As the game goes on, I kind of read the defense, see how they're playing different situations," Neitzel said. "A big part of this is using screens the right way."

Neitzel has learned that good screens easily can be rendered useless. Perfect timing is mandatory. So is energy preservation.

A big part of being a shooting specialist is lulling the defender into a slower gear when possible, then turning on the jets when a small opening appears.

"If I see him relax or stand up for one second," Neitzel said, "I take off."

The process also has been aided, indirectly, by NBA star Allen Iverson. Neitzel studies Iverson's off-the-ball movement whenever possible. After all, "Iverson's the same kind of player as me," Neitzel said, "a shooting guard who plays the point, too."

A year ago Neitzel was a point guard who could shoot, too, but did so sparingly. Now he's performing all guard duties, well enough to have one of those seasons.

"The only one here who was as great at (doing both) was Scott Skiles," Izzo said of a 1986 All-American. "And the thing with Drew is, we know he's our only real, real threat. Not many guys in the NBA can do that."

Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@lsj.com.