A nod to Travis Walton

A shameful admission here: I thought there was a chance Travis Walton would have his minutes squeezed as a senior, with all that young talent behind him and considering the way he struggled for stretches of his junior season.

   Wrong again. Walton led MSU with 34 minutes here in Iowa City on Thursday, stands second in minutes overall, and while Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers were the stars, and MSU's fast break was a humming engine (called the best in a couple years by Tom Izzo and a "green blur" by Todd Lickliter), MSU's defense was the key.
    And Travis Walton, once again, turned it. If you've watched Iowa much this year, you know that Jake Kelly's playmaking drives this team. He's 6-6 and gangly, gets into the lane, gets defenses out of position, gets a lot of hockey assists with a kick-out pass, followed by one more to a wide-open shooter.
    Walton absolutely took Kelly out of this game. Add this to a season resume that includes great defense on A.J. Abrams, Jon Diebler and even Talor Battle (even though Battle ended up with 20), and Walton should be in the discussion for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
    The other two candidates are incumbent Chris Kramer, and Illinois bulldog Chester Frazier, with a nod to Minnesota's Al Nolen. As Tom Izzo said Thursday, Walton may not get as much credit because MSU switches so regularly on the perimeter, but he's having his best year on that end.
     “Travis did an incredible job, I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves," Izzo said. "He’s right up there with Frazier and Kramer as one of the best in the league, and we’re pumping that.”
    The whole thing seems to be coming together for Walton right now. He's no longer the guy other teams don't need to guard. He hit a couple jumpers tonight, had seven points, four assists and no turnovers. He is the emotional leader, even as Lucas emerges as the star an on-floor catalyst.
    Walton has received a lot of "get him out of there!"s from fans over the years, and a lot of nasty comments on this blog. After a great sophomore year, he appeared to have a hard time adjusting to MSU's faster pace a year ago.
    Now he's adjusted. And he should be appreciated.