Couch: 3 quick takes on MSU’s Aidan Chiles, Tom Izzo and Adam Nightingale

1. Izzo’s comments Tuesday on his team and program are worth noting

EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo said a couple things that stood out Tuesday during his first press conference of his 30th season as Michigan State’s head men’s basketball coach.

No. 1, nearly right off the bat, was this: “I think we’re a lot tougher team than we were last year.”

When asked to elaborate, Izzo mostly talked about the Spartans being a more sizable group.

“We’re bigger,” he said. “(Transfer) Frankie (Fidler) is a lot bigger at the wing. We’re bigger there. I think definitely at center, both transfer Szymon (Zapala) and Coop (Carson Cooper) have improved a lot and are more physical. And I think at the 4, we’ve got a variety of guys we can go with, but in Book (Xavier Booker) and Jaxon (Kohler), Book’s more physical than he was and Jaxon’s lot more physical than he was, so I think we’re going to be more physical as a team.”

Physicality is one kind of toughness. I’m not sure that’s all Izzo was referring to in his earlier remark. This is a talented, albeit somewhat unproven group. If it’s also a physically and mentally tough group, that’ll go a long way in terms being an imposing team on the court and in the Big Ten standings.

Izzo was speaking ahead of just the second official practice of the season, but between summer practices and the trip to Spain, where MSU played three games, he should have a decent idea about the makeup of this team.

Also, in terms of the positional breakdown he mentioned — don’t read too much into it. I still believe you’ll also see Kohler at center and perhaps Booker closing games at center, and Kohler and Booker at times paired together, along with plenty of Coen Carr at power forward. If Carr plays like he did in the finale in Spain, he’ll have to be on the court. And right now, he’s best as a power forward.

The second comment that stood out was when Izzo was asked big picture about his program. His response:

“It’s just getting back in championship caliber. That’s the biggest thing that I want to see this team rise up to. Last year, the last five (losses), we were leading in the last two, three minutes. That’s inexcusable. The coach has to take responsibility for that, which I do, and hopefully we’re fixing that. I’ve done a lot more with last-second shots and working on shot clock stuff at the end.”

Those are two different points. But Izzo continues to acknowledge that the results in recent years haven’t been where they once were. And while that would seem to be obvious, coaches can be defensive about this stuff, Izzo included. Him continuing to live in that reality and push for more isn’t insignificant.

“I just have to make sure now that the best is yet to come. I really believe that,” Izzo said later.

A tough task, but the right headspace.

As for not finishing games, his memory isn’t exact — MSU wasn’t close against North Carolina late and was only ever tied with Purdue in the Big Ten tournament in the last two minutes and wasn’t ever within a bucket at Purdue down the stretch a couple weeks earlier — but there were a number of close losses in February and March, the sort of games that teams that win Big Ten championships and make Final Four runs find a way to win.

Some of that will be determined by point guard play and some of it by something else he said. After talking about his team’s physicality and improved depth, Izzo concluded by saying, “Now it’s finding that go-to guy down the stretch. That I think will be the key.”

I think it’ll mostly sort itself out, even if there’s a little trial and error. It’ll likely begin with Jaden Akins. Akins’ best shot at being that guy is realizing that guy doesn’t have to just be a shot-maker in the final seconds. He did a nice job in the third game in Spain of creating for others when he got into the teeth of the defense. If he does both — shot making and creating better looks for teammates — the ball can wind up with him in late-game and late-clock situations. This also could fall to Fidler or even Booker or maybe it’s just Fears creating and distributing and making the decisions. It doesn’t have to be one guy, but they do need at least one guy who can get them a bucket when they need it or when the offense is sticking.

2. Aidan Chiles’ thoughtful remarks, understanding of his mishaps is encouraging

Whether Aidan Chiles becomes the first perfect quarterback ever remains to be seen. But I liked what he said in response to his three-interception night at Boston College. He knows what we all know — that interceptions lose games. And so do missed throws to open receivers. And, just as importantly, he sounded much less defeated than he did after he struggled in MSU’s opener, his first start, four games earlier.

“Three plays don’t define me, but you have to get rid of the turnovers to win games,” Chiles said. “Without the turnovers, without the missed throws, we probably win that game. It is what it is. I still don’t think I’m any less of a person and less of a player. I’m not discouraged.”

When he was asked where he thinks he is in his development — ahead or behind where he wants to be, he said this: “I’m in a process. I’m in a learning process. I’m not going to put age on it, but I am young. That is what it is. Everybody knows I’m a young quarterback, but that doesn’t really mean anything to me. I’m just still learning … I wouldn’t say I’m where I want to be and I wouldn’t say I’m where I thought I would be, either. I’m in a process and wherever that process leads me, that’s where I’m going to go go.

The lesson: “One play can change the game,” Chiles continued. “I mean, I knew that already, but it comes up big. If I complete those two passes to Montorie (Foster), we win that game. If don’t throw those picks, I don’t know what happens on those drives. So, one play.”

Chiles’ assessment of things — including why he missed on some of those throws — is encouraging. These were thoughtful remarks, candid remarks, that showed he has an understanding of what needs doing, that it also might take a minute and why things sometimes go wrong.

“Sometimes I know I get a little antsy and my feet aren’t set (and the) ball sails a little bit,” he said. “Other times, maybe I make the right read and wrong timing. But overall, it’s just a thing that I need to work on myself and just go through, maybe make the game a little slower for myself. Learn how to work on slowing down the game a little bit. That’s about it.”

Sounds like he’s got a handle on it.

RELATED: Couch: Aidan Chiles is a lot for the heart to handle. But he’s the QB MSU’s football team needs.

3. Nightingale’s dream comes true: Munn Ice Arena is again the toughest ticket in town

There’s no way Adam Nightingale thought it would be like this again this fast. I doubted whether MSU hockey could ever be the toughest ticket in town again. But here we are. Just two years later.

Nightingale — in his first press conference ahead of his third season as MSU’s hockey coach — revealed Wednesday that the program had sold out its season ticket allotment and that student tickets were gone in about four minutes. There will be individual game tickets available. but Munn Ice Arena will again be packed and the days of deciding to catch a game and getting a couple seats last minute are over.

And that was Nightingale’s dream two years ago. It didn’t take long to come to fruition.

“You look back at how this has kind of gone — there wasn’t a ton of people coming to our games, and our guys had to earn that,” Nightingale said. “And it wasn’t a handout. It wasn’t, ‘Hey, we’re going to get free tickets to try to make us feel like we have a crowd.’ This is a real crowd. … Like you’re not going to be able to get a ticket to the games. And our guys are proud of that. But now we’ve got to make sure we keep it.”

MSU, coming off a Big Ten championship and Big Ten tournament championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, begins play Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4 and 5, at Lake Superior State, before opening up at home Oct. 11 and 12 against national runner-up Boston College.

That’ll be the most frenzied October crowd we’ve seen at Munn in decades.

RELATED: Expectations swelling around Michigan State hockey in preseason

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 3 quick takes on MSU’s Aidan Chiles, Tom Izzo and Adam Nightingale