Branden Dawson’s knee injury was a horrible blow for Dawson and the Spartans. He tore his ACL in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Ohio State and all anyone in Spartan Nation can do is hope for the best. He is an outstanding athlete and this is a major injury with a minimum of six months recovery time. A bare minimum. Fortunately for Mr. Dawson he plays for a coach that is looking out for him more so than his program. Courtesy of Graham Couch at Mlive, I have a few quotes on the matter from Tom Izzo I would like to share here:
On how Dawson is dealing with the injury: “He’s never been through much of an injury in his career. I think that makes it harder, too. He’s never really been hurt, hurt. All of a sudden it’s like somebody took away everything you’ve worked for all your life.
“But his spirits are pretty good and the lack of swelling, if you looked at him walking in a pair of shorts, you’d say, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ Maybe that speaks volumes for the great body he has and how fast he’ll recover.
“I always judge how important things are to people by how they react. When you get to see those different emotions in a player it sometimes reassures you that you’ve got the right guy.”
No decision on a redshirt has been made, but Izzo offered this: “I’d consider anything that’s in his best interest,” Izzo said. “We are not going to push a kid that I think has a chance to play basketball after college and ruin his opportunity in any way.”
With a number one seed in the B1G tournament later this week, there is precious little time to grieve. The Spartans have to find a plausible replacement for Dawson, and right now. The starting five should be Appling, Wood, Thornton, Green, Payne. There will still be a need for other players to step up due to match ups and rest for the starters.
Brandan Kearney: Kearney has logged some playing time, however not much at all lately. Since the going got tough within the Big Ten race he has not shown much production. On the season he has totaled 31 points, 21 rebounds, and 16 assists. He played 12 minutes vs. Ohio State and recorded 1 assist while committing 2 fouls.
Russel Byrd: Byrd has logged about half as many minutes as Kearney this season (128) and has collected 33 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Byrd is reputed to be an incredible shooter and that is always appealing. He did not play vs Ohio State.
Alex Gauna: Gauna has logged about as much time as Byrd and although he is a power forward he may be called upon to soak up some of the minutes that used to go to Dawson depending on match ups. He has collected 53 points and 23 rebounds on the season. Played one minute vs Ohio State and managed to pick up 2 fouls and one turnover. Yes, everyone groans when this kid enters the game but he has seen some minutes so I had to include him as possible.
That’s about all the coach has to work with, realistically. None of these guys has the physique that Dawson has, nor are they nearly as polished in their game. They are all freshmen, and as such need more time to develop. We all have to remember that Dawson doing the things he did as a freshman is not the norm. Not only could he drive to the bucket, elevate, and score but he played fantastic defense. Asking any of these players to duplicate Dawson’s play would be foolish, but the team will have to ask them collectively to give all they have. With luck, one of them may establish themselves and provide a lift to the team in the process. This is Michigan State after all, nobody said it was going to be a picnic. Grab your lunch pails boys, time to go to work.
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