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ST. LOUIS - The shot of the day belonged to Kalin Lucas.
As Michigan State wrapped up its practice Thursday at the massive Edward Jones Dome, Lucas swished a 30-foot shot - while sitting on the bench. Fans and Lucas' teammates gave the injured guard a loud ovation.
The surprise of the day also belonged to Lucas, who said he has not ruled out the possibility of an early jump to the NBA, even though he's out four to six months with a ruptured left Achilles' tendon.
"You know what, I don't know," said Lucas, who will be on the bench tonight when the Spartans take on Northern Iowa in the Midwest Regional semifinals. "Me and coach said when the year's over with, we're gonna all sit down and talk with my family and we were gonna decide the best decision. That still holds. So when the season's over with, we'll make a decision there."
Although Lucas would not be able to work out for teams to improve his stock, he said he would consider putting his name out there and gauging the response. But that's all secondary, he said, to helping in any way as MSU tries to reach another Final Four.
Lucas put off surgery this week so he could fly with the team to St. Louis. He will have it early next week, and if the Spartans make it to Indianapolis, he should be able to bus down with the team, said team physician Dr. Jeff Kovan.
Kovan said he expects Lucas to be able to participate by the time practice begins in the fall, though it's hard to project when a player will regain full confidence after having a major surgery. The tear is higher in the foot than some, Kovan said, which bodes well for the repair and recovery.
"I think you'll see Kalin where he was and where he wants to be by the time he gets to the Big Ten season. Maybe sooner," Kovan said. "The good part for Kalin is, different than you or I, he's got every-day care, every-day treatment. Everything he needs to get to the best place he can be. And (trainer) Tom Mackowiak's essentially gonna be living with Kalin until he gets back to the court where he needs to be."
Kovan said he was initially stunned by the non-contact injury, and told Lucas as much after Lucas sustained it late in the first half of Sunday's NCAA win over Maryland.
"I shook my head and said 'This doesn't happen to 20-year-old guys.' It just doesn't," Kovan said. "It can, but it's very, very rare. It's 35-to-50-year-olds who still think they're 20-year-old guys. So it's a rare injury that we don't have a great explanation for."
What about the shoes? Chris Allen, who sprained his right arch in the first-round win over New Mexico, said he is switching from the super-light Nike Hyperdunk shoes that he has been wearing to an older, heavier Nike model.
Lucas wore the same Hyperdunk shoes and Detroit Pistons trainer Arnie Kander recently banned similar Nike Hyperize shoes in the Pistons locker room.
Kovan expressed doubt that the shoes are to blame, but said he'll explore all possibilities.
"They don't just casually throw it on the market," Kovan said of Nike. "But not everybody's the same, and every foot is a little different. So is there a problem with that shoe? Obviously Arnie Kander's had a lot of problems and I respect their decision. For us, we haven't really seen a lot of problems. We've had sprains that we have every year. Therefore, yeah, we're gonna look at that because we have to. If we don't look at it, we're not doing a service to the kids to make sure we're protecting them."
INJURY UPDATES: Allen believes he may be able to play 20 minutes or more tonight, based on how well his sprained right arch has healed in the past couple days. Allen and Delvon Roe (knee) both practiced Thursday.
Roe said his right knee, which will receive arthroscopic surgery as soon as the season ends, benefitted from three days of rest and is feeling less pain. He will start tonight, and Allen will come off the bench.
As soon as Roe plays, the knee likely will start hurting again.
"Yeah," Roe said with a laugh. "Pretty much."
RUN DOWN: MSU is going to need some quality minutes tonight from freshmen center Derrick Nix, who is admittedly fatigued from the long season.
"I'm just tired. Tired of all the games, all the travel, all that. Just drained," Nix said. "I'm gonna push it out because my teammates need me. I'm gonna do the best that I can do."
Said Izzo of Nix: "I think he's ready for the season to be over three times. We look at it like it's the NCAA Tournament but he's looking at it like it's 140 practices. ... Another week or two, Nixer, and then you can have four days off before we get you back on a treadmill."
COVER BOY: Northern Iowa guard Ali Farokhmanesh graces the cover of Sports Illustrated this week, but UNI coach Ben Jacobson isn't worried about a jinx. He also claims he was fine with Farokhmanesh firing up the early-shot-clock 3-pointer that buried Kansas on Saturday - and was the ultimate "No, no, no - Yes!" moment for the Panthers.
"It may sound crazy," Jacobson said, "but that's a great shot for our team."
Farokhmanesh is a JUCO pickup who Jacobson initially passed on but followed through his junior college career. The 6-foot senior isn't especially quick, but he averages 9.7 points and has 76 3-pointers this season.
Farokhmanesh, center Jordan Eglseder and guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe give UNI some of the most interesting names in the tournament.
"I know a lot about Northern Iowa," Izzo said. "In fact, I know everything about them I think I need to know except how to pronounce their names."
QUOTABLE: Lucas, on roommates Allen and Durrell Summers, who are taking him to class and helping him through his injury: "They're doing the dishes. The remote, I get the remote pretty much all the time now."
