Linking Laconically Could Get Used to These Nostalgia Trips

• The State News : Blogs - Sims to join team Sunday
  "This is not a Matt Trannon deal for two reasons," Izzo said. "Matt was a little older when it happened and, number two, the need at that position. But at the same time, me, like you, just to have no idea where it’s at right now in terms of what he can do. Matt came in November and this kid’s coming in January."
• Big Ten assistants in mix at CMU - Big Ten Blog - ESPN
  Dan Enos is one of them.  Obviously it'd be a great move for Enos, but it would also be a big loss for us, particularly in recruiting.
• MSU's Jerel Worthy, Detroit native Nick Perry make all-freshman team | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
  Congrats to Jerel, who was clearly one of the bright spots on defense this year.
• Three Michigan football stars headed to U-M, MSU early | detnews.com | The Detroit News
  Max Bullough (LB) and Nick Hill (RB) will be on campus shortly.  Good news.
• Spartans plan huge recruiting weekend | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
  Self-explanatory. DT Jibreel Black, DT Bruce Gaston, OL Eric Franklin, S Mike Dorsey, and LB Davion Rogers.
• The State News : Icers look to continue hot streak vs. Lake State
  "The Spartans have outscored opponents 20-3 in the last three games . . . [b]ut with MSU opening up the second half of the season this weekend with a home series against red-hot Lake Superior, who is unbeaten in eight games (6-0-2), the Spartans aren’t letting their heads get too big."
• Five Things to Watch Against Alabama - Burnt Orange Nation
  Ok, so the NC game has already started. But in case you haven't seen it already, BON handpicks the keys to a Texas win.
• Finally, the time has come... - Roll 'Bama Roll
  . . . meanwhile, RBR gets philosophical.
• Linebacker-U.com :: The Voltron of Penn State blogs
  The authors behind Zombie Nation, Happy Hour Valley and the Nittany Line join forces. If they were truly interested in honoring their coach, it would have been called "WEEEAH LINEBAAAACKAH YOOUUU.com," obvi.
• Inside the Izzone (scottwesterman.com)
  Thoughts from the guy who organized last night's reunion.  FWIW: "See their team is WEEEEEEEAK" took hold far more than 5 years ago.  And I still don't like it.
  

BONUS NONLACONIC COMMENTARY: So, as Pete mentioned, I was one of the 850 or so who showed up at the Breslin Center last night, desperately trying to capture our college glory days.  Annnnd, it was honestly a ton of fun.  The praise the alumni section has been receiving has been a little over-the-top, IMO; it was an average crowd by Izzone standards, and almost certainly not as loud as the full section would have been for the Wisconsin game.  (To be fair, the normal Izzone section is almost twice as big.)  Still, we were much better and louder than a normal winter break crowd would have been, and so it should be regarded as a success.  In his postgame comments both to the crowd and to the media, Tom Izzo certainly seemed pleased with how everything turned out.

On a personal note, I brought my cowbell, played it for the first time in 3 years, and, defying all odds, managed to not screw it up.  +1 to me, ha.  The game, along with the trips to The Riv and Pachero's, certainly made the miserable drive back to Chicago today slightly less painful.  If they do another one of these next year (fingers crossed), I'm so there.

As for the game itself, I cosign everything that Pete said, and add only a few things of my own.

• First, this was the first Bo Ryan-era Wisconsin game I can remember in which we had fewer team fouls than they did.  The foul which sent Bohannon (I think?) to the line at the end of the game was a terrible one, and rightly elicited a stream of naughty words from Izzo's mouth . . . but under the circumstances, we can't have too many complaints with the officiating.
• Leuer is indeed as good as advertised.  He not only can shoot it well; his low-post moves are quite polished for a big man.  At one point, Delvon Roe had good defensive position on him, and Leuer made a fantastic ball fake to the left, turned to the right, and swished it from 8 feet.  Very impressive.
• Trevon Hughes, on the other hand, has been at Wisconsin since 1997.  I swear.
  
• Big win for our guys, because this game was against a good opponent, and it was clearly played to the pace our opponent preferred.  Our team defense was tremendous, and I was especially impressed by the individual efforts Raymar Morgan, Chris Allen, and especially Durrell Summers on defense.  (Summers' performance, in particular, was encouraging because he played great defense and rebounded well in spite of a terrible night offensively.)
• Derrick Nix has all the moves; the ball just isn't going in right now.  He missed a layup which was almost impossible to miss; he has to be very anxious at this point, and I just hope that the anxiety doesn't become something of a vicious circle.
• This has to be the best basketball rivalry in the conference at this point.  However, winning at Madison will require a better performance.  Annnd, I hope we get that effort, because, man, I love beating those guys.