PHILADELPHIA – The charity for troubled youths started by Jerry Sandusky more than three decades ago – and through which the retired Penn State assistant football coach met the boys he is charged withFORT WAYNE – Tom Izzo wasn’t real pleased with Draymond Green at halftime of Sunday’s game against Purdue.
“I didn’t think he was playing the way he should play,” Izzo said afterward.
Michigan State’s coach had a message for the star senior forward.
“I told him, ‘We’re going to put the team on your back the second half,’ ” Izzo said. “Boy, do I think he answered the bell.”
Green finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Spartans in a 76-62 win against Purdue.
“We wanted the ball in his hands a lot,” Izzo said. “We put it there. I thought (Purdue) did a good job. I just thought he made some big-time plays because I think he’s a big-time player.”
Green had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in the second half, helping Michigan State win its fifth straight.
Green has emerged as a leading candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year. He is eighth in the conference in scoring (15.4 points per game), first in rebounding (10.5) and ninth in assists (3.7). He’s the leader for a team that is ranked No. 6 in the nation and sits atop the Big Ten standings.
“He’s a tremendous player. The one thing is his versatility. He can do so many different things,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said during the Big Ten teleconference Monday. “The thing I enjoy about watching Draymond play is, dating back to his freshman year, you see all the different things he’s added to his game. You have to factor in a lot of different things when you’re playing him. The three-point shooting, the driving, the passing, the rebounding, the posting. He does a great job.”
Matta also has a top candidate on his team in Jared Sullinger. The sophomore forward is third in the Big Ten in scoring (17.5) and second in rebounding (9.2). The Buckeyes and Michigan are tied for second in the conference, one game behind Michigan State.
Ohio State is at Michigan State in the regular-season finale March 4. The game might determine the conference champion and the player of the year.
Purdue’s Robbie Hummel, Indiana’s Cody Zeller and Northwestern’s John Shurna are the only other players that rank in the top 10 in the conference in both scoring and rebounding.
Green has a Big Ten-leading 15 double-doubles this season.
“He epitomizes what you want in a power forward,” Minnesota’s Tubby Smith said. “The word ‘power’ itself. But he combines it with finesse.”
Green earned his second straight Big Ten Player of the Week honor Monday. He’s won it four times this season.
“He dreams big, he wants to accomplish things,” Izzo said Monday. “I’ve just been lucky that 99 percent of the things he wants to accomplish are team things. Even though he has some personal goals, he always puts his team ahead of those.”
