EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Some sort of discipline for star guard Jeremy Fears is possible as Michigan State coach Tom Izzo deals with another issue in his backcourt: a season-ending foot injury for key transfer Divine Ugochukwu.
Izzo said Friday he still was considering benching Fears for at least a portion of the No. 10 Spartans' home game against fifth-ranked Illinois on Saturday night.
Fears' tactics were questioned for a second consecutive game
when he received a technical in a 76-73 upset loss to Minnesota on Wednesday.
Fears swung his leg backward into Langston Reynolds' groin area after the whistle when Reynolds was called for a foul on a bucket by Fears. Officials didn't see what Fears did, but issued the technical on review. Izzo said his sophomore guard needed to “grow up a little bit” and the coach was considering whether to bench him.
Izzo mostly defended Fears in his meeting with reporters two days later while saying he wasn't sure what he was going to do about the on-court issue after a similar situation arose in the previous game against rival Michigan. Fears appeared to intentionally trip Wolverines star Yaxel Lendeborg during what was an intense matchup throughout No. 2 Michigan's 83-71 victory last week.
“I do have some decisions to make,” Izzo said. “And I could make ’em playing him from the start, playing him 10 minutes into the game, playing him at halftime. I’m not trying to minimize it. I’m just trying to do what I think is right and fair from what I know of the kid.
“If I look at what he’s done, how far he’s come and what he’s been through, there’s a lot worse that I’ve been through than that,” Izzo said. “My decision, you can create your own philosophy on whether it’s right, wrong or indifferent. I promise you this is not nearly what it was made out to be in the first place.”
Fears leads the Spartans at 14.6 points per game and shares the Big Ten lead in assists at 8.9 per game. Ugochukwu, who transferred from Miami, was a key part of the backcourt depth. Izzo said surgery was planned for Ugochukwu.
“I feel for him,” Izzo said. “The saddest part is usually on those kinds of injuries you have like a stress reaction and you have pain in your foot. He had none of that.”
Michigan State is coming off consecutive losses for the first time this season and at risk of its first three-game losing streak in two years. Izzo says he doesn't think Ugochukwu's injury changes the outlook for the Spartans.
“I have enough guards that I might have to play a little different,” Izzo said. “That’s not going to be the reason we win or lose games, if you ask me. We have to get our key guys playing well.”
While Izzo is considering disciplining Fears, the coach seemed to say he wasn't interesting in anything overly punitive. Izzo also defended his team's sportsmanship after Michigan coach Dusty May accused the Spartans of making dangerous plays.
“This whole thing started with the game before, which I think some of that was blown out of proportion,” Izzo said, referring to the Michigan game. “And so the next day I had a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting with him again. I think he understands what’s going on.”
“When you look at a kid, you make decisions on your own kids or somebody else, you have to look at the whole picture,” Izzo said. “And the whole picture to me is a 3.1 (grade point average) student. He’s had no injuries. He’s done absolutely zero off the court. I’ve never had a problem with him.”
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