Spartans limping into basketball season opener

EAST LANSING - It's OK to joke about it now, and MSU's Delvon Roe is hearing all about it from his basketball teammates.

The Michigan State sophomore wasn't laughing, though, in the first couple days after the first concussion of his life. He was forgetting things, suffering intense headaches and making little sense.

"It actually was scary," fellow sophomore forward Draymond Green said. "I was standing by him, and he was saying some of the craziest things. I was like, 'Whoa.'"

Roe is expected to play tonight - 12 days after taking an elbow to the head in MSU's exhibition win against Northwood - in the No. 2 Spartans' season opener against Florida Gulf Coast at Breslin Center.

His freshman year was a very public recovery from surgeries on both knees, and now Roe has an aching head to overcome. At some point, he expects to demonstrate what all the fuss was about when MSU coach Tom Izzo out-recruited North Carolina for his services.

"It's gonna be fun, and it's a chance for a new beginning for me," said Roe, who averaged 5.6 points and 5.2 rebounds a game while slowly regaining his athleticism as a freshman. "I say last year was a preseason for me. I was just trying to get my feet wet and come back from injury, but this year I'm very excited."

Asked to describe what's different about his game this season, Roe said: "Quickness. I can get up the floor a lot quicker. ... I can go up there and get the ball at the top of the rim. I think my conditioning is at an all-time high, ever. I feel like I can not get tired at all out there. Last year I could play hard in spurts. Now I feel like I can go play hard for 35 minutes and not get tired."

The Spartans are a hobbling bunch as they start their quest to return to the national championship game, and win it this time. Senior forward Raymar Morgan is questionable for tonight's game after suffering a severe, high left ankle sprain two weeks ago.

Chris Allen (groin), Durrell Summers (eye) and Korie Lucious (ankle) all have been nicked in the preseason but are fine to play.

Roe's injury was different. The elbow shot didn't look excessively powerful on film, he said, but it landed in just the wrong spot.

The next couple days were hazy for him. Teammates had to keep an eye on him at all times to make sure he was all right.

"It's very scary," he said. "It makes you experience how it is (to) have Alzheimer's or something. You can't remember anything that happened, you can't remember your name, you can't remember all that stuff. Day by day it got better, I'm thankful for that."

Roe is still getting short but intense headaches around 8 p.m. each night, but the MSU medical staff told him to expect that for a couple weeks. And he's telling them he's ready to play.

"They've got to trust me and trust my word," he said.

Roe has been practicing this week, but the time off applied some rust to the skills he worked hard to improve over the summer.

Izzo said he considers Roe "95 percent" back to where he was before his initial knee injury in December 2007.

"Laterally, he's so much quicker. He's jumping so much better. And then the next question is, is he gonna get his game back?" Izzo said. "He wants to be a player so bad, and he has trouble dealing with reality and trouble dealing with the way it is."

Last season, for example, Roe would say he was nearly all the way back and "I thought he was 45 (percent)," Izzo said.

"He's such a positive kid, but he struggles to deal with the reality part. He thinks he should be able to come back and do the same things," Izzo said. "It's a bigger issue for a coach and player than it is a fan. He's gonna look great out there.

"Quick, athletic, it's the other parts now. I think he makes our break so much better because he can run faster than half our wing guys."