TULSA, Okla. -- We forget that they play in shorts and tank tops. On a court merely 50 feet wide. Hemmed in by thousands of spectators that can hear every groan.
They play without helmets or masks. Without padding or any other sheathing that might separate the performance from the audience.
And basketball is a performance.
“You’re on a stage, man,” said Dane Fife, Michigan State’s assistant coach. “And you’re half naked.”
In that context, it is easier to understand the arc of the Spartans’ season. To explain the inconsistencies and the growing pains. To figure out why MSU looked so ragged last week in Washington, D.