Rocket Watts appears to turn the corner as Michigan State's point guard

Feb. 25—Go back to early December and try and remember the feeling around Michigan State's basketball team.

In particular, think about Rocket Watts.

The Spartans had just gone on the road to beat Duke for the first time and had dispatched of a pesky Detroit Mercy team that could well play itself into the NCAA Tournament this week. Watts, at that point, had everyone believing the transition from Cassius Winston might not be as difficult as it seemed. He'd scored 20 in the win at Duke then poured in a career-high 23 with four assists to help knock off the Titans.

Michigan State was a top-five team and Watts appeared on the verge of commanding the offense.

Of course, things went in the wrong direction. Watts scored 10 against Western Michigan but reached double figures only one more time over the next 14 games. Along the way, the point guard transition ended, for the most part, and Watts gave way to Foster Loyer and A.J. Hoggard as he focused on playing the shooting guard spot.

Still, the confidence waned. Something had to change.

So, when Michigan State came alive in the second half last weekend at Indiana, it was with Watts at the point, leading a smaller lineup that featured Aaron Henry, Joshua Langford and Gabe Brown. That same group started on Tuesday against Illinois, and it paid off with a second straight victory.

And in the process, Watts started to turn the corner. He played 32 minutes at Indiana, got all six of his points in the second half and didn't turn the ball over. In the win over Illinois, he played 31 minutes, scored 15, handed out five assists and had only one turnover.

Finally, Watts looked like the player from early in the season, like the player the Spartans were hoping they'd have all along.

"I'm just letting the game come to me," Watts said. "Just finding shots for my guys before I take mine and let the game come to me, just be a poised point guard. I feel like I'm doing a great job with that and just coming in and spending extra time, watching film and stuff like that. I've been doing that well."

There's no doubt it's taken some time for Watts to get to this point, but as Michigan State coach Tom Izzo reminds everyone on a regular basis, there's usually a process for most players, especially one making the position switch Watts has been attempting to make.

And, of course, having the summer derailed by a pandemic did not help.

But over the last couple of games and heading into a critical matchup with No. 4 Ohio State on Thursday night, Watts has started to show that the process is picking up steam.

"I just told him I was proud of him, because it's been hard on him and I told you some of that's been my fault," Izzo said after the win over Illinois. "He still, a couple times early, maybe just got a little out of control, but he's getting better at it every day. And what I loved and this is the only thing I've asked of him, he comes to the huddle and said, 'That was my fault.' He knows he made a mistake and, hey, no problem.

"So, I told him I was proud of the fact that he's been spending more time (working), that he's working harder and that I thought he did a pretty good job defensively, we had him on (Ayo Dosunmu) a lot. He ran our team."

The Spartans (12-9, 6-9 Big Ten) are hoping for more of that down the stretch. It will be vital if they can pull off a stirring finish and reach the NCAA Tournament for the 23rd straight season. A win over the Buckeyes would be three in a row and two straight over top-five teams. After that, Maryland and Indiana await before closing with two games against No. 3 Michigan.

So, the opportunity is there, and Watts' progress will say a lot about whether the Spartans pull it off.

"Nothing is easy," Henry said, reflecting on how tough it is to play point guard. "Coach throws me and Josh in there and we get exhausted mentally in first couple minutes, more so than physically because you have to be there and do so many things for so many other people.

"But just the emergence of how (Watts) has been playing the past couple games is because of the work he's put in. He's been in more working on the reads, his shot, watching more film. He's a guy that just wants to grow and always wants to get better man and I'm excited for him, I really am."

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau