Hey, Tom Izzo: Why Not Give Isiah Dahlman a Chance to Step Up?
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Isiah Dahlman: Can he be a factor for the Spartans Friday night and help pave the way to another Final Four run?
The all-time leading scorer in Minnesota high school basketball has been riding the pines at Michigan State for four years.
Now, with guards Kalin Lucas out, and Chris Allen hobbled, and Korie Lucious pressed to fill in, perhaps Izzo should look down his bench.
There sits a guy who perhaps could make a difference in a pinch. His name is Isiah Dahlman. He's a 6-6 senior. He started eight games as a freshman and ranked fourth on the team with 30 assists while averaging 6.1 points per game.
Delvon Roe also is not at full strength but Raymar Morgan, who chipped a tooth against Maryland, has gone to the dentist and had his smile renewed. There's always a chance that injury may leave him a little gun shy, but the senior should be able to shake it off.
Izzo did admit during a recent interview that "Dahlman may be playing" against Northern Iowa (Friday, 9:37 p.m.). However, from his comments it sounded like Austin Thornton and Mike Kebler will figure more prominently in his plans.
At yesterday's press conference, Izzo said: "We said all along that everybody is going to have to be part of the wins, and I said our scout team has been unbelievable. I've told you guys that a couple times in here, and now they've moved into a playing role, and it maybe brings our team a little closer because everybody was a part of that victory, there's no question. And everybody had to be ready to play.
"And now I see, you know, everybody is going to be in watching film because they know (Isaiah Dahlman) might be playing, Tommy Herzog might be playing. We're going to have everybody ready, and I think this is good for us. It's a good situation for us. It keeps everybody a little bit more involved."
Thornton and Kebler have shooting percentages far below that of Dahlman. Herzog has only played 55 minutes but has a good shooting percentage and a 3.7 points per game average. Motivation? When you're playing what may be the last game of your career it's built in for Dahlman. And, if you perform your team may move on and have another chance for revenge against Ohio State and, who knows, play Purdue in an all Big Ten final?
Dahlman's career high came in the 2006-07 season, his freshman year, when he tallied 11 vs. Chicago State, adding four rebounds and four assists. He also scored in double figures against UW-Green Bay and the Citadel.
As a sophomore Dahlman appeared in 19 games, with 10 minutes against San Jose State being the longest. His scoring was minimal, tops being two three pointers against Penn State.
Despite the low scoring and only playing 88 minutes all year, Dahlman's field goal percentage is of championship caliber at .600 and his three point average is nothing to sneeze at, either, .375. He is perfect from the free throw line, although only shooting a pair this year. Given more minutes that kind of accuracy would project to points the Spartans are definitely going to need Friday night against Northern Iowa, and hopefully beyond.
Sportscaster and former University of Detroit coach Dick Vitale has picked the Spartans to advance, and that's a risky choice, in our opinion, given the injuries. In fact, word is that Northern Iowa is considered to have a stronger bench than MSU, a factor that seldom arose this year against other teams.
Dahlman was named co-recipient of MSU's Unsung Player Award last year despite a season high scoring of only six points against Alcorn State.
However, if we go back in this guy's history he apparently has the potential to really light it up: three straight Minnesota 2A championships, 33.6 point average, total 3,366 points, leading all-time scorer in state history, All American, etc., etc.
Why he hasn't been a stronger scorer and contributed more to the Spartans remains a mystery. He has won loyalty points for staying at MSU when he could have transferred in 2007 to play for Tubby Smith at the University of Minnesota. But he didn't and has contributed unselfishly on the "opposition" in practice.
But there's still time for redemption -- for both Tom Izzo and Isiah Dahlman. And that time begins at 9:37 p.m. Friday night. It's time for Isiah Dahlman to become "sung" instead of just "unsung." ###
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