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The dog days of summer are coming soon and that normally means not a whole lot is going on in the world of college basketball. However, that isn’t the case with the Michigan State Spartans.
In the past week a number of stories surrounding the Spartans have surfaced, ranging from schedule changes to one star player taking a workout trip. Read below to find out all of the latest headlines in the past week for Michigan State basketball.
Bridges working out in Florida
It’s the offseason, but we know for sure that at least one Michigan State player is putting in the hours at the gym. Sophomore forward Miles Bridges spent this past week in Miami taking part in three-a-day workouts with George Mason sophomore Jaire Grayer, who is also from Flint, Michigan. According to MLive, the workouts were led by Haseeb Fasihi, an NBA Player Development Specialist, and Kevin Grayer, the older brother of Jaire and former player at Midwestern State University.
A video of the workouts shows Bridges is looking better than ever. Bridges showcases a consistent jumper, swift ball handling skills and a few nice dunks throughout the workout YouTube video. Take this with a grain of salt since it is simply a workout video but Bridges certainly looks as explosive as ever and his jump shot looks improved, which was considered by many as an area of his game that needed to get better. Both are positive things to see for Michigan State fans.
Click here for the entire MLive story on Bridges’ offseason workout trip.
Florida taken off Schedule
About a month ago I wrote a story on what we already knew about Michigan State’s upcoming 2017-18 schedule, and one of those games featured a road trip to Florida. But that will no longer be the case.
The Detroit Free Press reported this past week that Michigan State’s road trip to Gainesville has been pushed backed to 2018-19. The game was part of a home-and-home agreement and according to the story, Florida will make a return trip to East Lansing the following season.
The decision to push the home-and-home series back could be a result of Michigan State and Florida both participating in the Phil Knight Invitational next season. The tournament will feature 16 teams with two separate eight team brackets. The schedule/brackets have yet to be announced so there is still a chance Michigan State and Florida will play each other next fall.
Michigan State not part of Big Ten-Big East Challenge
The third annual Gavitt Games — also known as the Big Ten-Big East Challenge — has been announced and for a third straight year Michigan State will not be participating in the event.
After sitting out the first two years of the event, some were hopeful the Spartans would be part of this year’s challenge. The series doesn’t receive the same attention as the Big Ten-ACC Challenge but there certainly was opportunity for a big time matchup against teams like Villanova, Xavier or Butler.
Big Ten Powerhouse did a full story on the matchups featured in this year’s event and also mentioned its frustration for the Spartans not being included.
“The biggest reason that this slate lacks the sizzle of the last two years is the lack of top-tier opponents,” Thomas Beindit wrote. “In particular, the absence of Michigan State and Villanova leave a lot to be desired. Both are expected to be players on the national scene and many consider the Spartans to be a national championship contender.”
Click here to see the entire list of matchups and the rest of Big Ten Powerhouse’s story on this year’s installment of the Gavitt Games.