Michigan State Spartans: Impact Of Losing Denzel Valentine

Michigan State star player Denzel Valentine will be out 2-3 weeks with an injury, and his loss will have a great impact on the Spartans.

Michigan State’s senior forward Denzel Valentine will miss the next 2-3 weeks with a knee injury, according to the Lansing State Journal’s Graham Couch. Head coach Tom Izzo announced that Valentine suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s practice while driving for a layup.

Valentine had arthroscopic surgery on Monday morning to repair his injured knee. He will miss the beginning of Big Ten conference play and the final non-conference game against Oakland University.

If there is anything that bodes well for the Spartans, it’s the adversity that they have shown under Izzo. This could be the toughest test yet, losing their best player in Valentine.

Valentine accounts for the majority of the Spartans’ production. He is one of two players that average double figures in scoring. His 18.5 points per game is good for 23.1 percent of the Spartans scoring production. His 8.3 rebounds per game account for 18.9 percent of the team’s rebounding. He’s the team’s best distributor with 7.1 assists per game, which is 30.9 percent of the team’s total assists.

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Valentine, 22, is the team leader and the floor general. During his college career, Valentine has won the Big Ten conference championship and reached the NCAA Tournament all three years. He has been to two Elite Eights, three Sweet Sixteen’s. Though Valentine is expected to return before postseason play, he could have the most experience out of any college basketball player in the country.

With Valentine’s injury, the Spartans aren’t just losing experience and production, they’re losing valuable leadership. The Spartans have veteran players in Bryn Forbes, Gavin Schilling and Matt Costello, but the team is young beyond them.

Deyonta Davis, a true freshman, is the team’s third-leading scorer with 8.2 points per game. Sophomore forwards Javon Bess and Marvin Clark Jr. have seen an increased role this season, combining to average 10.5 points per game. Sophomore point guard Lourwals “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. is a traditional point guard that is a ball distributed, but not a great scorer.

The youth on the team is costly. Michigan State will rely on Eron Harris to start in place of Valentine, according to Couch. Harris is has had steady production this season for the Spartans. However, his range is a cause for concern. Valentine is shooting 40 percent from three-point range, but Harris is only hitting 34.5 percent of his three-pointers this season.

Harris in 2015: 16.3 mpg, 7.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 40.3/34.5/74.1

Harris should step in nicely, despite the drop-off in three-point percentage. He has shown that he can be a two-way player with his rebounding and passing.

The most valuable part of this for the Spartans will be the playing time and experience gained by Harris, Clark Jr. and true freshman Matt McQuaid. McQuaid should also get more playing time. He has been lethal from three-point land, connecting on 45.5 percent of his three-point attempts.

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Valentine’s loss could hurt the Spartans, but may ultimately help them during the long course of conference play. His production and on-court leadership will be missed. The Spartans will be ready to play under Izzo and will benefit by gaining great experience.

With a non-conference game at The Palace of Auburn Hills against Oakland, the Spartans will have a great test to see how they adjust. The Grizzlies just knocked off a good Washington Huskies team at Washington. They bring good guard play and will pressure Michigan State shooters. The test will be on for the undefeated Spartans without Valentine beginning Tuesday night.