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UConn’s big man poses a big problem for Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — There’s no player on Michigan State’s roster who comes close to matching the size of Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet.

Then again, the same could be said about nearly every other team UConn has played.

“He’s very unique,” MSU freshman forward Delvon Roe said. “He’s 7-4, so that’s unique.”

He’s actually listed at 7-feet-3 and 263 pounds, but who’s counting?

At 6-8, Roe will be part of the frontcourt group that will work to neutralize Thabeet when MSU and UConn play Saturday in the Final Four at Ford Field. The Spartans will try to throw every big man at the junior center, which means players such as 6-11 senior center Idong Ibok should earn some floor time. Seven-foot sophomore center Tom Herzog mimicked Thabeet in practice.

Coach Tom Izzo discussed his game plan against Thabeet and joked that the first step was finding a screen large enough to project his body.

“Right now we’re adding a screen to our video room so we can get him on the whole thing,” Izzo said, laughing. “The one we had, he doesn’t fit. We’ve had a ceiling-level screen on there.”

The Spartans know that in addition to Thabeet’s 13.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, they have to worry about his 4.3 blocks. Izzo said he told his players to watch video of UConn opponents that had similarities to MSU, teams like Big East foe Pittsburgh, and to examine squads that played man-to-man defense to determine how they handled Thabeet on ball screens.

“The bottom line is, if he gets it behind you, he’s dunking it,” Izzo said. “That’s a given. So that’s the first thing we can’t let him do. If he gets it in front of you, he does have some post moves. It’s not like he’s a stiff in there. You might have a 50/50 chance. The other way it’s a hundred.”

MSU would like to force Thabeet outside and execute transitions successfully to force him to run. When Thabeet gets in the interior, Ibok said he and his reserve teammates would use as many of their five fouls as needed to keep him from scoring.

Thabeet’s native country of Tanzania and Ibok’s Nigeria are on opposite sides of the African continent, meaning the two have about as much in common as people from say, Portugal and Finland. But the comparisons between the centers already have started.

“The players in the locker room have started to call him my cousin, or say, ’Have you talked to your brother today about the game on Saturday?’?” Ibok said. “It’s all in fun. It just makes basketball a whole lot more entertaining.”

Ibok has spoken to his family about playing in the Final Four, although he said the magnitude of the accomplishment isn’t understood by most in Nigeria.

“In Nigeria, it’s not taken very seriously except amongst the basketball circles, but my family understands that it’s another big win and that we’re close to playing for a national championship,” Ibok said. “They’re excited about that.”