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Neitzel gets the green light to shoot
Dave Dye / The Detroit News
EAST LANSING -- If you watched Drew Neitzel in high school, you
probably didn't recognize him the last two years at Michigan State.
Neitzel was a scoring machine at Wyoming Park High, but he made a
transformation with the Spartans to distribute the ball to Paul Davis,
Maurice Ager and Shannon Brown.
Davis, Ager and Brown are gone, and Neitzel is ready to bring back
memories of the high-school prom.
"I've been scoring from the point-guard position my whole life," Neitzel
said Tuesday at media day. "I like scoring off the dribble. I consider
myself a scorer.
"I think a lot of people forgot about that my first two years here, that I am
a scorer. They see me as just a set-up guy, make the pass. But I've been
working on my shooting hour after hour since I've been a little kid. I
haven't lost that yet."
Neitzel averaged 3.4 shots as a freshman and 7.1 as a sophomore. He's
shooting 39.9 percent in his career.
Some of his shooting confidence clearly was lost at times during his first
two seasons, partly because he didn't know if he really should be taking
the shot.
Now he knows -- shoot it.
"This year, I think I've got the green light pretty much from coach (Tom)
Izzo," Neitzel said. "I'm going to be able to let them fly. That will be good
for my confidence, kind of get that high-school swagger back a little bit.
"I have to find my old self again. I don't think that will be hard to do. In
open gyms, I've been playing very aggressive offensively, almost looking
to score every chance I have. If that's not open, then hit the open guy. I
think that's what kind of mentality I'm going to have to have."
He acknowledged he likes knowing it's sort of his team now.
"Yeah, I can't lie about it," Neitzel said. "Every athlete wants to be in
control of the team."
Scott Skiles certainly was in control of the Spartans when he averaged
27.4 points and 19.3 shots during his senior season in 1985-86.
Izzo doesn't necessarily expect those numbers, but he thinks Neitzel
could become one of the top scoring guards to play at MSU.
"It's kind of his turn," Izzo said. "I have not put the pressure on him to
have a Scott Skiles year, but I'm more to that way of thinking."
Having lost 77.6 percent of their scoring from last year, the Spartans
desperately need Neitzel to take over. He did it in high school, averaging
33 points as a senior, but whether the 6-foot junior can handle such a
burden in college remains to be seen.
"I think he's ready to do that," teammate Drew Naymick said of Neitzel's
increased offensive responsibilities. "In the past, he held back, thinking
his role was maybe to defer to the other guys."
There's one problem: With fewer proven scoring options around him,
more of the defensive focus will be placed on Neitzel.
"I'm going to have to bring it every night," he said. "I can't really afford to
have that many off nights this season for us to have a chance to win.
There is a lot of pressure on me to score."
The pressure might be on him, but not on Michigan State, a program that
is typically picked to win the Big Ten and possibly reach the Final Four.
Expectations are considerably lower for the Spartans, who open Nov. 8
against Brown. A streak of nine NCAA Tournament appearances could be
on the line.
Neitzel said he and his teammates will be taking an "us-against-the-
world attitude into every game."
"Even in some of the nonconference games, people are going to doubt
us," he said.
Dave Dye / The Detroit News
EAST LANSING -- If you watched Drew Neitzel in high school, you
probably didn't recognize him the last two years at Michigan State.
Neitzel was a scoring machine at Wyoming Park High, but he made a
transformation with the Spartans to distribute the ball to Paul Davis,
Maurice Ager and Shannon Brown.
Davis, Ager and Brown are gone, and Neitzel is ready to bring back
memories of the high-school prom.
"I've been scoring from the point-guard position my whole life," Neitzel
said Tuesday at media day. "I like scoring off the dribble. I consider
myself a scorer.
"I think a lot of people forgot about that my first two years here, that I am
a scorer. They see me as just a set-up guy, make the pass. But I've been
working on my shooting hour after hour since I've been a little kid. I
haven't lost that yet."
Neitzel averaged 3.4 shots as a freshman and 7.1 as a sophomore. He's
shooting 39.9 percent in his career.
Some of his shooting confidence clearly was lost at times during his first
two seasons, partly because he didn't know if he really should be taking
the shot.
Now he knows -- shoot it.
"This year, I think I've got the green light pretty much from coach (Tom)
Izzo," Neitzel said. "I'm going to be able to let them fly. That will be good
for my confidence, kind of get that high-school swagger back a little bit.
"I have to find my old self again. I don't think that will be hard to do. In
open gyms, I've been playing very aggressive offensively, almost looking
to score every chance I have. If that's not open, then hit the open guy. I
think that's what kind of mentality I'm going to have to have."
He acknowledged he likes knowing it's sort of his team now.
"Yeah, I can't lie about it," Neitzel said. "Every athlete wants to be in
control of the team."
Scott Skiles certainly was in control of the Spartans when he averaged
27.4 points and 19.3 shots during his senior season in 1985-86.
Izzo doesn't necessarily expect those numbers, but he thinks Neitzel
could become one of the top scoring guards to play at MSU.
"It's kind of his turn," Izzo said. "I have not put the pressure on him to
have a Scott Skiles year, but I'm more to that way of thinking."
Having lost 77.6 percent of their scoring from last year, the Spartans
desperately need Neitzel to take over. He did it in high school, averaging
33 points as a senior, but whether the 6-foot junior can handle such a
burden in college remains to be seen.
"I think he's ready to do that," teammate Drew Naymick said of Neitzel's
increased offensive responsibilities. "In the past, he held back, thinking
his role was maybe to defer to the other guys."
There's one problem: With fewer proven scoring options around him,
more of the defensive focus will be placed on Neitzel.
"I'm going to have to bring it every night," he said. "I can't really afford to
have that many off nights this season for us to have a chance to win.
There is a lot of pressure on me to score."
The pressure might be on him, but not on Michigan State, a program that
is typically picked to win the Big Ten and possibly reach the Final Four.
Expectations are considerably lower for the Spartans, who open Nov. 8
against Brown. A streak of nine NCAA Tournament appearances could be
on the line.
Neitzel said he and his teammates will be taking an "us-against-the-
world attitude into every game."
"Even in some of the nonconference games, people are going to doubt
us," he said.
