The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The Michigan State Spartans hosted media day to introduce the 2015-16 team to the East Lansing, Michigan, community and Bahamian sophomore guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr was one of the focal points this season.

Nairn was named as one of a trio of team captains alongside seniors Denzel Valentine and Matt Costello. “My leadership comes from being the smallest on the court. I just want to be heard and want my presence felt when I am out on the court. I think I have to play that way being this size. I think I have to lead by example, and that’s what I want to do for this team,” Nairn said.

“I have the same hunger as last year because getting to the Final Four wasn’t enough. It wasn’t. And that’s what we want to do. We want to win a National Championship, so it’s the same goal and the same drive. We know what it takes, and coach Izzo knows what it takes to get there so we’re just going to do whatever he tells us to do to get there.”

The Spartans finished the year at 27-12 and were runners-up in the Big 10 tournament. They entered the NCAA tournament as the No.7 seed in the East Region and defeated Georgia, Virginia, Oklahoma and Louisville en route to the Final Four.

The dream season came to an end one game short of the national championship game when they suffered an 81-61 loss to the Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

“Leaving the floor in Indianapolis was one of the hardest moments of my life because we wanted to get to Indy so bad last year, but we got there and couldn’t get the job done,” Nairn said. “Coach says the motto is to take it to another level. We are going to continue to work as hard as we can. “

Nairn averaged 2.2 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 rebounds in just over 19 minutes per game for the Spartans in his freshman season. He shot 32 per cent from the field, 30 per cent from three-point range and 54 per cent from the line while attempting just 2.3 shots per game.

His offensive efficiency has been the focus of his offseason improvement.

“I mean, I know what I had to work on in the offseason because last year during the season teams played me a specific way, and I don’t want it to be like that next year. It’s not going to be like that this year because I am more confident, and the hours I put in, I just know how bad we all want a National Championship. I know what it takes to get there. We have to continue to get better and that’s what we want to do. We want to win,” Nairn said.

“It wasn’t even the fact that I was a bad shooter, it was that I didn’t have the confidence in it so this summer I worked extra hard, probably harder than I’ve ever worked in my life, on my shot. Now my coaches have the confidence in me and my teammates have the confidence in me because they know the work I’ve put in.”

That hard work has been evident in one anecdote shared among the team - a situation where Spartans head coach Tom Izzo had to force Nairn to leave the gym after logging too many hours.

“Tum is sick. I mean, he is in every single day. Him and Javon Bess have been in every day since school started. They’re in early in the morning. He’s worked on his shooting and worked on it and worked on it. He struggled a little bit in Italy to be honest. Those teams over there had real big guards, most of them, and he just struggled a little bit. But then the last game he had his best game. He ran the team, and we could have, should have beat Georgia, and he played awfully well in that game, so he saved the best for last. He had 10 points, 10 assists, and played really well.

So he bounced back, which is no surprise,” Izzo said.

“He’s been a leader since the day he stepped on. He was elected a captain because the team knows that he’s an incredible, incredible, incredible leader, and that’s been good for us. I love the way the guy competes. He’s as good a defensive player as there is in this league. But he has improved his offence a lot. He’s the quickest guy we’ve got and still a very high vertical, so he can do a lot of different things. We all know that he didn’t shoot it very well last year. I think you’ll see a different him this year.”

Nairn and the Spartans will enter the season ranked at No. 13 in both the Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches top 25 poll.

The Spartans’ schedule features five ranked opponents, including two in the top five and another possible opponent also ranked in the top 10.