If Tom Izzo had his druthers, this wouldn't be happening quite like this.

Sure, the Michigan State coach would play his trio of talented freshmen, but he wouldn't be quite so reliant on them. Yes Kelvin Torbert, Alan Anderson and Chris Hill are very skilled, but Izzo doesn't like playing each of them close to 30 minutes a game.

"That makes me very uncomfortable," Izzo said.

Well, Tom, you better get used to it. You don't have a whole lot of other choices.

	Freshman Chris Hill is providing the same traits of those Spartans who came before him: defense, rebounding and toughness.

But, entering the Preseason NIT semifinal against Syracuse, starting two freshmen and playing three had turned out just fine for the Spartans. First was a victory over a good Detroit team. Then came a second-round game against Oklahoma in which the new-look Spartans -- the ones without Andre Hutson, Jason Richardson and Zach Randolph -- were able to out-defend and out-tough Oklahoma.

In New York, however, the green Spartans lost to both the Orange and Fresno State. Still, while Torbert, the latest export out of basketball-crazed Flint, Mich., entered college with the most hype, Anderson and Hill have both been maybe a little better than expected.

Now, let's not feel too bad for Izzo and the Spartans. It's not as if Michigan State, the school that's reached three consecutive Final Fours, really has to beg to find players.

Hill, a 6-foot-3 guard from Indianapolis who is a very good perimeter shooter, was an all-state player and was a member of the all-tournament team at the 2000 adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas. Anderson, a 6-6 wing with good athleticism, was an all-state player at Minneapolis DeLaSalle High School and the best Minnesota player not named Rick Rickert.

Both Hill and Anderson were expected to contribute this season for a Spartans team that has lost 10 players over the last two years. But the reality is that both have been as effective as Torbert, who was rated as one of the top five players nationally in the senior class by nearly every recruiting analyst.

After two games, the three had nearly identical numbers. Torbert has averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game; Anderson has averaged 8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 24.5 minutes and Hill has averaged 8.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 23 minutes per game.

While observers might be surprised by the similarity, Izzo isn't.

"Those two freshmen (Hill and Anderson) came from programs where they were very well coached," Izzo said. "Alan was fortunate that (DeLaSalle coach) Dave Thorson was a former Gophers assistant. He has a great understanding of how to play defense and what it takes at this level. Alan's been everything we could ask and more.

"Chris is very good offensively. He can shoot the ball and that cures a lot of ills."

Hill realizes the importance this freshman class will play in the Spartans' success this season, but the upperclassmen and coaches haven't tried to put too much pressure on them.

"The older guys have really given us three freshmen good direction," Hill said. "They've told us how to correct things. If we have questions, they always answer them.

"I've really just tried to come in for whoever and be solid and not make turnovers."

As good as the freshmen have been, things are going to get more difficult. And in a hurry.

In addition to playing away from the Breslin Center -- out of their comfort Izzone, so to speak -- the Spartans are going to have a lot of things thrown at them quickly.

Tonight, Syracuse, as Jim Boeheim's teams always do, will play zone defense almost exclusively. Regardless of whether the Spartans face Wake Forest or Fresno State on Friday, they'll face a team that wants to push the ball. The same is true of next week's ACC/Big Ten Challenge game against Virginia.

"We're going to get ourselves a plateful of different philosophies," Izzo said. "I think that will help us in the long term. I'm not sure it will help us in the short term."

But it will give these freshmen their first major test.

Game of the Week

Wooden Tradition Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis Stanford vs. Purdue Missouri vs. Xavier For Purdue, the game with the Cardinal will be a good barometer. The Boilermakers lack a star, but they were very effective last season when John Allison and Rodney Smith were healthy. How about this for a week of competition. First Missouri plays Alabama and Iowa on back-to-back nights in the Guardians Classic. Then, three days later, gets a very dangerous Xavier team and center David West. Indiana State at Butler Sunday A matchup of two of the better mid-major programs of recent years. Indiana State defeated Oklahoma in the first round of last season's NCAA Tournament while Butler defeated Wake Forest. The Bulldogs might be the favorite in this game as they lost just one starter from a year ago and will be playing at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Redbirds go on without Bryson
Tom Richardson realizes it will be difficult. Actually the Illinois State coach realizes more than one thing will be difficult.

When lightning-quick senior guard Tarise Bryson went up for a layup last Friday night against Weber State and landed with all of his weight on his right wrist, a lot of things changed for Illinois State, the Missouri Valley preseason favorites. Bryson, who averaged 22.8 points per game a year ago, simply put, was the best player in the Valley and one of the best underpublicized players in the nation.

But when he landed on his wrist, Bryson's season -- and quite possibly his collegiate career -- was over. He had surgery on the wrist Saturday in Indianapolis and Bryson faces a recovery period that could last up to a year.

"The (Weber State) guy was just doing his job, trying to take a charge," Richardson said. "That play -- the block-charge play -- happens 100 times or more in a season. He just fell funny.

"He's going to spend the next four or five months not doing much but wiggling his fingers in different types of casts. He has ligament damage, wires in bones, sutures holding ligaments to bones. It's a mess in there."

Richardson said Illinois State will petition to the NCAA for Bryson to receive a sixth year of eligibility. That, however, might not be easy to obtain.

Nearly every time the NCAA has granted a sixth year -- former Northwestern center Evan Eschmeyer and former Iowa wing Jess Settles are among the receiptients -- the player has suffered multiple season-ending injuries. That isn't the case with Bryson.

Bryson, a Decatur, Ill., native, entered Illinois State as a non-academic qualifier and sat out his first season. It wasn't until he graduated in four years that Bryson was given this season.

"We're not sure what they're going to do," Richardson said. "It's all in the hands of the NCAA."

Richardson openly admits that the loss of Bryson does hurt the Redbirds chances and eliminates any margin of error Illinois State has. But, his team -- one that returns three other starters from a year ago -- certainly isn't going give up ideas of winning the Valley and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.

"We're a good, solid team without him," said Richardson, who led Illinois State to a 21-9 record last season after going 10-20 in his first year. "But he's a guy who could get you baskets when you're struggling and get you going. It's going to take some time to adjust."

Shawn Jepson, a starter a year ago, will take Bryson's spot in the lineup. He won't, however, be asked to do all the scoring. Instead, each of the Redbirds who see significant minutes need to score an additional basket each game, Richardson said.

Still, it isn't going to be easy. Not with a schedule that features a Friday game against UC Irvine and non-conference games against Illinois, Central Michigan and the guarantee of one game with Kent State and the possibility of another.

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