10 Chicago Tribune|Chicago Sports|Section 2|Saturday, March 7, 2020
eNEWSPAPER BONUS COVERAGE
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Much of
Versailles, Ohio — population 2,769 — will be
shut down Sunday.
And many of its residents will make the
3-hour trek to Breslin Center to see one more
clash between Michigan State’s Kyle Ahrens
and his brother, Ohio State sophomore
Justin.
It just so happens that their only meeting
of the regular season comes on Kyle’s Senior
Day.
“Especially on playing once this year, it’s
just that build up of not being able to play
twice,” Ahrens said after practice Thursday.
“It’s just all here now, so it’s exciting.”
The 17th-ranked Spartans close out the
regular season with a third straight Big Ten
title at stake against the 19th-ranked Buck-
eyes. And the gritty presence of the oft-
injured Ahrens has been a big reason MSU
(21-9, 13-6) has climbed back into the race.
The 6-foot-6 swingman missed four
games in January and was limited for the
early part of the season with the after-effects
of an ankle injury suffered in last year’s Big
Ten tournament title game.
In the 10 games since returning, Ahrens
has averaged 4.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in
13.7 minutes while shooting 47.8% from
3-point range. However, his gutsy effortand
defensive knowledge has been a big reason
for the Spartans’ increased toughness.
They’ve wonfour straight and five of their
last six to claw back into the title hunt.
“I thought last year watching him lay on
the floor at the Michigan game over in
Chicago, I thought that might be it for him,”
MSU coach Tom Izzo said Thursday. “But he
hung in there, he battled back. I thought
when he got hurt at Gonzaga (in a preseason
scrimmage), that might be it for him. But he’s
kind of been what this team has been —
we’ve kind of got up one more time that
we’ve been knocked down, so I’m happy for
him.”
Izzo said he cannot think of another
player he has had in his 25 seasons as a coach
who will get to play against his brother on
Senior Day.
“I know Kyle, I know his family, I know
his brother, I know his mom and dad. Ain’t
gonna matter to Kyle when he’s on the floor.
He’s gonna play his butt off,” Izzo said. “After,
it’ll be all the hugs and kisses all that stuff
that happens. But he ain’t giving away any
secrets this week, and he isn’t going to holdback any. And i’m sure his brother won’t
either.
“It’s just pretty cool, though. Some day,
can you imagine, those guys sitting eating
some turkey on Thanksgiving or being
together at Christmas when they each got
three four kids and they’re telling stories?
It’ll be the Moby Dick and the minnow. The
stories will get bigger and bigger.”
OSU entered its penultimate game against
Illinois on Thursday at 20-9 overall and 9-9
in conference after being picked as one of the
preseason conference favorites. Justin
Ahrens is averaging 3.2 points and 1.4
rebounds in 10.6 minutes over his 24 games
this season. The 6-5 guard is shooting 42.6%
overall and 41.1% from 3-point range.
Izzo joked “the mom-and-pop stores and
the farms will shut down,” but there is some
truth to that. Last year, when MSU and OSU
played twice, a throng of family and friends
from their hometown made the trip to watch
them both in Columbus and East Lansing.
The Spartans completed a three-game
sweep by beating the Buckeyes in the BigTen tournament two days before Kyle’s
injury against Michigan on March 17. It was
Justin who called his older brother while he
was in the locker room getting his ankle
checked to tell say his team needed his
presence on the bench to rally past the
Wolverines.
“I just couldn’t believe it happened this
way. I’m excited,” Kyle Ahrens said of
playing against Justin again. “My whole
family’s gonna be there. It’s gonna be a
special night for us, for our family. I’m happy
I get to see him — I haven’t seen him in a long
time. I only get to watch him on TV, just like
he does with me.”Langford limbo
Like Ahrens, senior Joshua Langford has
missed significant time with injuries. The
2016 McDonald’s All-American’s last two
seasons ended prematurely with similar left
foot issues that required surgeries, costing
him the second half of last year and all of this
season.The 6-5 shooting guard could return for a
fifth year of eligibility. However, Langford
remained adamant he has not made up his
mind whether to do that and does not have a
time frame mapped out yet.
“I still don’t know,“ Langford said. “I’m
not sure yet. I’m still just waiting on God and
just seeing what’s next for me. I’m not in a
rush. But at the same time, I don’t want to
wait too long. I just want to walk in wisdom
about it.“
After getting back on the court in late
August, Langford’s second foot injury forced
him to be shut down again before practice
opened in early October. He had surgery in
December to fix a stress reaction.
Langford averaged 15 points in 28.6
minutes a game over MSU’s first 13 games in
2018-19 before suffering his first foot injury.
“We still don’t know exactly what’s going
to happen with Josh and what he’s gonna
do,“ Izzo said. “... Every time I see him, I
think what we’d be like with him. And he’s
kept a little bit like Cassius (Winston) — such
an even keel about it, not blaming anybody.”
The 23-year-old, who has stuck by his
teammates on the bench while wearing a
walking boot, said his rehab from the second
surgery “is on track.”
“Everything’s going well. I don’t have any
complaints about that,“ Langford said. “I
should be out of the boot soon, so I’m just
taking it one day at a time.”Bye, George
The usually unmentioned, often unher-
alded Conner George will say his Breslin
farewell with the rest of his class.
George, whose mother Cathy is MSU’s
volleyball coach, has provided a few key
moments when called upon over his career
as a just-outside-the-rotation player. His
biggest moments came in the 2017 PK80
tournament in Portland, when the 6-4 guard
got seven rebounds in 16 minutes — both
career highs — in a win over DePaul.
George has averaged just 1.2 points and 2.5
minutes in 57 career games, but he also has
been a pivotal member of MSU’s scout team
that helps get the Spartans prepared week in,
week out.
“Conner George has probably been as
good a scout team player in as good of a
student and representative,” Izzo said. “Be-
cause his mother as a coach, I think he has a
great understanding of what it’s like for me
and for our staff. ... I can’t understate his
value to the program.”LEFT:Ohio State’s Justin Ahrens after sinking a basket against Northwestern this season. RIGHT: Michigan State’s Kyle Ahrens after making a 3-pointer versus UCLA.JOHN LOCHER/AP 2018 (KYLE AHRENS); NAM Y. HUH (JUSTIN AHRENS)Brother v. Brother
Michigan State’s Kyle Ahrens and
Ohio State’s Justin Ahrensmeet for
the final time on Kyle’s Senior Day
By Chris Solari
Detroit Free PressEarlier this season, Kyle Ahrens was still dealing with the effects on an ankle injury suffered
nearly a year ago in the Big Ten tournament championship game.BRIAN CASSELLA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE