Michigan State’s Leadership Depth Could Be Its X-Factor

Basketball teams have some of the smaller locker rooms in major sports.

That naturally creates more of a family mentality, and it is easy for one or two vocal leaders to emerge while the rest of the team falls in line.

But that’s never really the case with Tom Izzo-coached teams.

Izzo loves vocal leaders because he is one of the most vocal leaders in the coaching game himself. He is constantly talking to his team, pushing players to be better and demanding that they do the little things with more detail.

But sometimes, one voice isn’t enough.

A team full of coaches and vocal leaders is how teams become successful. Depth on the court is vital, but depth in leadership is just as important.

During Big Ten Media Day in Chicago, I had the chance to ask Izzo about that very thing.

I asked him to take Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr off the table and identify who else was stepping up as a vocal leader.

I didn’t want the answer everyone already knew.

Of course Fears is a vocal leader. He will continue to be one throughout this season and his career. The expectations surrounding him are enormous for a reason.

The real question was who, outside of Fears and Carr, was stepping up inside the locker room.

Izzo had three names ready.

“I think that’s a good question because we all need vocal leaders, you know. Fears is definitely one and Carr has gotten better. Outside of them I’ve gotten some from Cam Ward and I’m really starting to get some from Jordan Scott, who might have improved as much as anyone, and the third is Jesse McCullough.”

Izzo went on to specifically discuss McCullough and the work he put in during the offseason.

“Who probably spent more time in the gym this summer than any player I have, which says a lot. Big guys usually they like basketball and sometimes love it, and seldom live it. He’s lived the game this year. When you’re confident in your own skills, it’s easy to be vocal to everybody else. So those three guys have stepped up in that area.”

McCullough got the start for the Spartans in their first exhibition game against Incarnate Word last Friday.

Cam Ward was injured but could have played if it were a regular-season game, so he sat out. That opened the door for McCullough to start at the four.

It didn’t take long to see how much the work he put in at the gym this summer has paid off.

McCullough led Michigan State with 20 points and was a force on the boards, showing the confidence and aggression Izzo was talking about.

There’s a chance McCullough plays his way into a consistent starting role.

But whether he starts or comes off the bench, Michigan State has plenty of options with McCullough and Ward at the four, while Jordan Scott can operate in the backcourt or slide to small forward when Carr gets a breather.

And that’s the bigger point.

The Spartans don’t just have depth on the court.

They are developing depth in leadership.

Fears and Carr may be the most obvious voices, but Izzo is seeing Ward, Scott and McCullough begin to find their voices as well.

That could become just as important as anything Michigan State does with the basketball.

Because if the Spartans are going to reach their ultimate goal — a national championship — they’re going to need more than one or two leaders to get them there.