Andy Rennecke

arennecke@stcloudtimes.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. – St. Cloud State got the entire Division I experience this past weekend after playing an exhibition game at Michigan State on Friday night.

But nothing gave the beleaguered Huskies more of a shock than having legendary Spartans head coach Tom Izzo lay into them early Saturday afternoon before they watched video of their 101-46 loss to Michigan State.

Izzo, who is marking his 20th year at the helm of the Spartans, let St. Cloud State know exactly how he felt about their performance against his team. Izzo didn't hold back in calling out the Huskies' lack of leadership and their individualistic tendencies.

St. Cloud State first-year head coach Matt Reimer arranged the meeting after Izzo's news conference Friday night.

"It was something to remember," St. Cloud State freshman forward Jon Averkamp said. "He's such an important person in the basketball community. He's a leader and his words carry a lot of weight.

"As the years progress for me here, I'll try and take some of his advice to heart."

Being a leader

Izzo spoke to the Huskies for about 40 minutes. His speech focused on how players who have been focused on themselves in the past have cost the Spartans chances of winning more.

St. Cloud State junior point guard Jordan Poydras had his play critiqued by Izzo at the meeting. Poydras had eight points on 1 of 7 shooting in the loss.

Poydras didn't mind the advice he got from Izzo. In fact, he thought he needed the criticism.

"I think it helped us get our heads on straight," Poydras said. "It's nice hearing that feedback from somebody who has been around the game so long. He knows so much. For him to talk to us, and the things he said, really means a lot."

Poydras wouldn't go as far as calling Izzo's speech a pep talk.

"We didn't need a pep talk. What he said to us was logical and will be helpful toward our captains. It really hit home for us," Poydras said.

Izzo said the blame for the Huskies' lack of leadership lies with their three captains (Poydras, Levandoski and Connor Niehaus). When Izzo asked if the players had any questions, Poydras was the first person to raise his hand.

Poydras asked what it meant to be a leader. Izzo, looking somewhat shocked, called it a great question.

"A leader is someone who makes the tough decisions," Izzo told Poydras.

Reimer admitted that his team has lacked leadership to begin the season.

"Our three captains have to step up," Reimer said. "Kevin, Connor and Jordan have to step up and be leaders. They're all great kids, but we don't have a guy who is willing to do the dirty things. Jordan's question to Coach Izzo was a step in the right direction.

"We don't have any Alex Carlsons or Nate Millers walking into the locker room every day who are natural-born leaders."

Correcting mistakes

St. Cloud State watched Michigan State's Saturday morning practice before their video session. After the meeting with Izzo, Reimer and his coaching staff went over the first half of the Spartans' game trying to point out what went wrong.

Not getting back on transition defense, shooting too quickly instead of running offensive sets, not properly settling into defensive rotations and not being physical enough were four of the areas the staff focused on.

St. Cloud State got outscored 60-18 in the paint and 34-7 in fastbreak points. The Huskies shot 2 of 23 from beyond the arc and 14 of 62 from the field. Michigan State outrebounded SCSU 54-34.

"We need to work on being a team in general," Averkamp said. "We have to achieve our goals. We have to dig into what Coach Reimer is saying. We expect more out of ourselves. We expected a closer game, not for them to run away from us like that."

In maybe the most telling stat, the Spartans had 30 assists to the Huskies' nine.

"The hardest part for me was knowing we had family and friends who came to watch us and then we played like that," Poydras said. "We laid an egg.

"I'm a competitor. I don't like losing at all. I kept looking at the scoreboard and we're down 20, then 30 and then 50. That cut me deep."

Still surprised

The Huskies hit the Spartans' practice court for two hours after the video session. The practice could only be described as spirited.

After being competitive with Michigan State in a 62-49 exhibition loss in 2012, Reimer still had a tough time believing things went as poorly as they did on Friday.

"I think (Izzo) was as shocked as we were at our performance," Reimer said. "I think he was especially shocked at the play of our upperclassmen. We showed we could compete with them two years ago.

"I can't thank Coach Izzo enough for what he did and to talk to our guys that frankly. He told them the way they played Friday night was embarrassing. We needed that."

Follow Andy Rennecke on Twitter @AndyRennecke or contact him at 320-255-8735.