EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Practice sessions likely will be more challenging than some games when Michigan State's season starts in a few weeks.
The Spartans are so talented and deep that the starters can expect all they can handle from the second-stringers.
They might have the most complete roster since coach Tom Izzo took over the program and built it into a national power, winning the 2000 national championship, four Big Ten titles and reaching four Final Fours.
"I think we do have the best depth - talented depth and different kind of depth," Izzo said. "We can bring in an athlete or a shooter and rotate different lineups."
That was obvious toward the end of Wednesday's practice.
Projected starters Travis Walton, Drew Neitzel, Raymar Morgan, Marquise Gray and Drew Naymick were on one team. Highly touted freshmen Durrell Summers, Kalin Lucas and Chris Allen along with upperclassmen Goran Suton and Idong Ibok were on the other. Reserves Isaiah Dahlman, Tom Herzog and Austin Thornton made the second team even deeper.
For much of the full-speed scrimmage, Summers seemed to be the best player on the court.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Detroit grabbed a rebound above the rim, drove for a layup, made a low-post move and ran past teammates on a fastbreak for another basket to help the second team beat the first.
"He's a great athlete with a lot of upside," Walton said.
Thornton's fadeaway gave the backups a 13-11 win over the starters, who had to sprint up and down the court three times for losing. The freshman from Cedar Springs High School came to Michigan State without a scholarship - turning down offers from other schools - but earned one for this season when Maurice Joseph transferred.
Izzo mixed up the teams in the next scrimmage, which ended with Neitzel missing a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
"Our freshmen played better than the upperclassmen," Izzo said.
While Izzo was pleased with his newcomers, he faulted his frontcourt for what he called uninspired and inconsistent play.
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