EAST LANSING, Mich. — Midway through the first half of Saturday’s Michigan State-Nebraska game, one man looked lonelier than everyone else in a very empty Breslin Center.
Rocket Watts.
The sophomore guard sat at the corner of the bench, where the sideline and baseline meet, shoulders slumped. He wasn’t entirely disengaged. Despite an u-g-l-y game unfolding in front of him, Watts watched the Spartans and Huskers go back and forth, up and down the floor. He clapped for made MSU baskets. He stood a few times, seeming to peek down to the front end of the bench, curious if the coaches were ready to send him in.
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They weren’t exactly eager to. Watts’ opening seven minutes of play against Nebraska were entirely out of sorts. Bad shots. Bad passes. Running everywhere, going nowhere.
The call came for Watts to reenter with 5 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first half. Michigan State led by four in a disorienting, deteriorating, turnover-filled affair.
Stepping on the floor for the second time, though, Watts delivered some juice. He injected some speed into the offense. He checked Nebraska’s Kobe Webster on defense. Tom Izzo bear-hugged Watts in a huddle for his part in an 11-1 MSU run. Coming out of that timeout, Watts corralled a pass, ran full speed down the left side of the floor, dropped a beautiful bounce pass from underneath the basket to a wide-open Mady Sissoko for a dunk.
That was the side of Watts with boundless potential, boundless possibilities.
And then …
A minute later, Watts flipped a bad pass pulling Malik Hall out of position, then drove into a wall of bodies and delivered a pass to Sissoko in a crowd of defenders. A turnover. Izzo immediately called timeout. Then the two — Watts and Izzo — barked back and forth in the huddle. No more hugs. Watts and Hall exchanged similar pleasantries before eventually slapping hands. Everyone shook their heads. On the first possession out of the timeout, Watts attempted a 30-foot left-handed bounce pass to a guarded Sissoko.
Another turnover.
The first half closed with MSU having the ball with nine seconds left and a chance for one more basket. Instead, Watts walked the ball up the floor as time fell off the clock. Watts dribbled and launched a deep 3 at the horn. It missed.
That was the other side of Watts. The side no one is quite sure what to make of.
As far as final results go, Michigan State posted a 66-56 victory, if that’s what you want to call it.
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It was a rough night. Nebraska, playing its first game in nearly a month due to a prolonged COVID-19 pause, shot 36.2 percent, committed 17 turnovers and went 11-for-24 from the foul line. Michigan State, trying to build momentum after a solid showing at Iowa earlier in the week, struggled. The Spartans committed 22 turnovers, were whistled for 24 fouls and went 6-for-23 from the 3-point line. It was a game that, at the end of the day, improved their record to 9-7 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten.
For Watts, meanwhile, the evening was a portrait of a disappointing season.
The 20-year-old spent most of the second half back in that corner seat on the bench. He stood on the perimeter of timeout huddles, arms behind his back. He returned to his seat in the corner. He played only three minutes after halftime. He finished the game with a season-high five turnovers in 16 minutes.
Watts was projected as a potential all-conference player this season. Instead, he’s averaging 8.7 points per game while shooting 38.7 percent on 2s and 29.1 percent on 3s. He’s handed out 49 assists against 27 turnovers. His defense has taken a step backward. Many hoped to see the Watts who was a dynamo down the stretch for the Spartans last season. That version has only come in fits and bursts.
“Probably should’ve played more in the second half,” Izzo said Saturday night, rubbing his brow, when asked what he wants to see from Watts, “but he’s gotta take care of the ball a little bit better, like any guard does. And, as I told him — (he needs to) get his grip back defensively.”
Izzo sort of shook his head, thinking …
“He used to be a guy no one could go around,” Izzo said. “When I said he was the reason we won last year, it wasn’t his shooting. He shot the same percentage he’s shooting this year. It was his defense, his energy, and all the other things.”
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By all accounts, Watts has handled a brutally frustrating season with some degree of perseverance. That said, exasperation has streaked across his face and his body language has often translated to dissatisfaction. The season began with a failed experiment to move him to point guard and only devolved from there. There’s nothing easy about cold reality when one has NBA dreams. Watts has had to deal with that.
Now in the first week of February, Michigan State has anywhere from seven to 10 regular-season games remaining. Its NCAA Tournament hopes are somewhere between a glimmer and a flicker.
The season is at the point where it’s worth wondering what Watts can salvage from his sophomore year. It’s also worth wondering what his future is with Michigan State. When things go as far sideways as they have for a player of his caliber, it’s only a natural question in this day and age in college basketball. If he feels things aren’t working out, he certainly knows he has other options.
That, though, is down the line.
For now, at least five weeks of games remain. “What I want to see from Rocket is for him to keep progressing like I think he was,” Izzo said.
In truth, it’s been a while since that progress has been seen.
And at this point the only chance it has to occur — real progress — probably hinges on Watts being afforded some degree of consistency position-wise. He began the year at the one, taking on the impossible job of replacing Cassius Winston. That didn’t work out because Watts didn’t have an offseason or preseason to work on the role change, he’s not a natural point guard and the coaching staff still yo-yoed Watts between the one and the two instead of going all-in on the point guard change.
Watts asked Izzo early in the season to move back to the two. Izzo granted that wish. He didn’t have to, but he chose to. Except, when the time came to really do it, the staff continued to yo-yo Watts between positions.
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“Every time I think I’ll just play him at the two, then we struggle to guard certain things at the one, and I move him back and forth,” Izzo said. “I don’t think it’s been fair to him, but it’s what you gotta do.”
But that clearly hasn’t worked.
Watts is in this oddly dissociated role. He’s not the point guard. He’s not the primary off-guard. What is he?
That’s been the question all year.
Michigan State is one of the few teams in the country that typically offer open locker-room access for media. If only this were a normal year. It would be fascinating to try to climb into Watts’ mind, have a conversation about everything that has happened and that hasn’t happened.
Instead, it’s only occasional questions from afar.
Watts, of course, having finished with five points in 16 minutes, wasn’t made available for postgame interviews Saturday. But Joshua Langford was, and Langford is a fifth-year senior with a lifetime of experience. He’s watched Watts — who took over his exact role as a freshman last season — try to navigate all this.
Langford tried to explain what we see on the outside versus what’s on the inside.
“Anyone who is going through a process in life — sometimes the attitude and their reactions to certain things aren’t necessarily going to be ideal because it’s hard,” Langford said. “A process isn’t easy, no matter what you’re doing. I think one of the hardest things in life is to be consistent when you’re going through a process. …
“Rocket, at the end of the day, has helped us a lot. I told him tonight that I’ve seen a lot of maturity in the way that he talks and the way he operates in the huddles. Is he perfect? No. But what human is? So I think he’s in a process, and as long as he continues to keep his head high and keep trusting coach, and what they’re trying to tell him, he’s going to be fine.”
Time will tell on that.
For now, all Michigan State and Rocket Watts can do is try to continue to figure out what Rocket Watts is supposed to be.
(Top photo: Paul Sancya / Associated Press)
