A Punch Back, Not a Setback: Inside the locker room after MSU’s loss to Duke
Both veteran Jaxon Kohler and freshman Jordan Scott had highlights from the matchup against the Blue Devils, but unfortunately walked away with their first loss of the season. However, the attitude in the locker room was motivated, rather than discouraged.
Despite No. 7 Michigan State’s undefeated record slipping away on Sunday, two Spartans — a veteran and a true freshman — walked into the locker room already talking about growth, grit and what comes next. If the Spartans continue to set a high standard heading toward March, they may be looking back at the 66-60 loss against No. 4 Duke as a chance to punch back, not as a setback.
Instead of getting doubtful or discouraged, both senior forward Jaxon Kohler and freshman wing Jordan Scott look to the positives, the things that need to be improved, and most importantly, what they can learn from their first loss of the season.
Kohler’s shooting in the first half kept Michigan State afloat when Duke was looking to pull away early, shooting 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the first half. Scott unlocked a new level of comfort on the court, with two big 3-pointers and multiple hustle plays all across the court, picking up rebounds and blocks. Although disappointed, both players are grounded in their perspective on this loss to the Blue Devils, which may just accelerate their growth.
“In these four years, you really learn how to turn a negative into a positive,” Kohler said. “For today, it would have been great to win that game, and I honestly think we should have, but it didn’t turn out that way, and now you've got to face the reality that we don’t have our streak anymore. The way to look at it now is, ‘so what?'"
This perspective brings clarity to the Spartan locker room that they need to take accountability for the missed opportunities and late-game struggles, but also lean into them and tune out these fine details come the postseason. Kohler went on to say this loss may be more beneficial than people realize, allowing each player to grow from each of their little mistakes and come out as a better team because of it.
“I believe that we are going to learn so much from this loss,” Kohler explained. “After Coach (Tom Izzo) had his postgame speech to all of us, we all came together, and we’re like, ‘Hey, it could be really beneficial for us if we do this the right way, if we take this the right way.'"
