Linking Laconically is distracting itself with some football

I'm not all that interested in leading off with basketball after last night's game, so instead I point you to a great roundup post of former MSU players' performances at the NFL Combine by Josh Slagter of MLive.

The two most interesting comments came on Michigan State's fantastic receiver tandem. Here was Chris Martin of the Big Ten Network on B.J. Cunningham:

"Best hands here. That's how you sell him. I'm not just talking plucking the ball out of the air, he has great catching radius. The challenge with him is what is his linear speed."

And Tony Pauline of Sports Illustrated on Keshawn Martin:

"He put on a clinic running routes and was one of the best receivers on the field. He was scissors sharp into breaks and showed the ability to turn on the afterburners in a single step."

It's a nice, comprehensive post by Slagter. I recommend going and checking out the entire thing. Some hoops stuff is after the jump.

Michigan State can't stay with Indiana, will have to wait to clinch outright Big Ten title | MLive.com
Obviously, Draymond Green was the only thing worth watching last night: "Green did his best to make his senior day against the Buckeyes matter less. The likely Big Ten Player of the Year, battling for his second outright Big Ten title, scored 29 points — 23 of 27 for Michigan State at one point — including the final 14 points of the first half."

Michigan State players buy in to Draymond Green's and Austin Thornton's leadership | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com
Fewer leaders has been a good thing this season: "While some might think it difficult to lead an inexperienced team, Izzo thinks that has been a benefit. "That's maybe the one positive advantage to the negative of not having a lot of veterans," he said. "Branden Dawson has really bought into Day-Day (Green) and Austin, and Austin really helped (Keith) Appling and (Derrick) Nix early in the year.""

How 2009 season led to Michigan State basketball team's run to Big Ten title in 2012 | MLive.com
If you like your accusations wild and your conclusions baseless, you'll love this column.

Keith Appling racking up extra minutes for Spartans | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Get healthy, Travis Trice: "Yet Trice's shooting isn't what MSU misses most. It's his ability to run the team for stretches and give Appling a break -- mentally and physically. No player is asked to do more than Appling. He guards the opponent's best offensive player, runs the offense and pushes the ball in transition. At his best, Appling is a one-man fast break."

Love affair with Michigan State Spartans started early for Draymond Green -- College Basketball - ESPN
Great great great read on Green: "Barely able to talk, he'd sit in the stands and watch his aunt, Annette, play basketball for Michigan State. When he wasn't hiding in fear from the scary Spartans mascot, Green would look at his mother full of earnestness and in toddler mumbo-jumbo, announce: "I go Michigan State and pway basketball.""

The Sports Fan Journal " Blog Archive " Hardwork, Dedication: The Story of #Draymond Green
Another guy who is pleasantly surprised at how thoroughly Green has exceeded expectations: "If someone would have predicted this back in 2008-09, I would have called them out on it. Hell, if they predicted this at the beginning of the season, I would have had a strong amount of trepidation, but #Draymond is closing in on helping Michigan State possibly make their third Final Four in his four years on campus, and not only will be helping them, he’ll be the face of their run as well."

Harris thrills Class 4A No. 1 Royals as he beats buzzer against No. 3 Panthers | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
Gary Harris adding to his legacy: "It was a shot, and a game, no one in attendance will soon forget. Harris' shot at the buzzer gave Class 4A No. 1 Hamilton Southeastern an 86-83 win over No. 3 North Central in a Sectional 8 first-round game, the third in a trilogy of games worthy of a special DVD release. "It was a battle," said the Michigan State-bound Harris, who scored 31 of his game-high 35 points in the second half."