Joe Rexrode

Detroit Free Press

EAST LANSING – The quick feet, the determination, the moment in time — Eron Harris still cherishes that 5-second call.

Those aren’t easy to get on Yogi Ferrell.

“I know he remembers,” Harris said, though it has been awhile. A long while.

“It was probably like fifth grade,” Harris said of one of many battles between the two as kids growing up in Indianapolis. “I won’t ever forget, man, he’s probably the best player I’ve ever played against coming up. He was the No. 1 player in the nation in third grade, you know what I mean? That was crazy, and I’m definitely gonna take this as a challenge.”

“This” is the latest defensive assignment for Harris, the junior guard who has become the Spartans’ quick-point-guard stopper with sophomore Tum Tum Nairn (foot) out. Even if Nairn can make a cameo for No. 8 MSU (20-5, 7-5 Big Ten) against Indiana (20-5, 10-2) on Sunday at Breslin Center, the job of guarding Ferrell will fall mostly to Harris.

MSU's Nairn does not practice, but could play Sunday

Oh, and MSU needs him to get his offense going, too. Denzel Valentine is doing it all, Bryn Forbes’ shooting is an established key, but Harris can help both of them by producing.

He shot 1-for-8 with two missed dunks in Tuesday’s 82-81 overtime loss at Purdue, scoring three points for a total of 33 in his past five games. He’s 10-for-37 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the line in those five games.

“Yeah, he’s got to get fouled more,” coach Tom Izzo said of Harris, an Indianapolis Lawrence North product and transfer from West Virginia averaging 9.4 points. “He’s a little robotic, he’s trying to figure out where he’s supposed to be. We’ve got to get him more involved, too. That falls on me. But he was 1-for-8, he got some shots, he just didn’t make any. I thought we missed some dunks and lay-ups … and whether he got fouled on a couple of them, (or) Bryn did or not, you’ve got to find a way to make those or get fouled.”

Harris has impressed Izzo with his ability to not let offensive struggles adversely affect his defense. Valentine proclaimed Harris the game’s MVP after a Jan. 23 win over Maryland because of his defense on point guard Melo Trimble — solid as it was all night, despite 1-for-8 shooting for Harris.

Is an emphasis on defense adversely affecting Harris’ offense?

“Whether it does or not, that goes along with my development as a player,” Harris said. “Just trying to balance everything out and trying to be as effective as possible on both ends of the floor.”

The defensive end will be the challenge Sunday. Ferrell, a 6-foot senior from Indianapolis Park Tudor High, is averaging 17.1 points and 5.6 assists. He’s just 5-for-24 shooting in his past two games — an upset loss at Penn State and Thursday’s big home win over No. 4 Iowa — but he’s always creating, and one of his two baskets vs. the Hawkeyes was a late three-pointer to help the Hoosiers pull away.

“I mean, I like Melo Trimble, but Yogi might be the best,” Izzo said. “He can shoot. He can pass. He’s got strength. He’s got quickness.”

MSU will employ “an army” against Ferrell, Izzo said, including Valentine at times. But Harris played with him and against him for years, starting when both were second-graders.

Harris has a good feel for a guy he calls a “close friend,” and he has the film of his own success against Trimble for confidence.

“Yogi’s a little bit faster, bouncier, a little bit better feet probably,” Harris said. “Trimble is more power. He’s got quick moves, but he’s not so fast. Yogi is bouncy off the floor, he’s on his tippy-toes, quick feet. Yogi is gonna be a hard guard.”

And then there’s the other end of the floor.

“He needs to score more,” Valentine said of Harris. “Not be too aggressive, but just do what he can inside the offense. … He’s a freak athlete, he knows how to score in a variety of ways. And we need him for this home stretch.”

Contact Joe Rexrode: jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.

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UP next for MSU

Matchup: Indiana (20-5, 10-2 Big Ten) at No. 8 Michigan State (20-5, 7-5).

When: 1 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing.

TV: CBS (Channel 62 in Detroit).