Tom Izzo ends the Chris Allen speculation

After quite a bit of speculation over the status of Michigan State's Chris Allen, Tom Izzo's hammer came down this afternoon.

"It's been no secret that Chris Allen’s been in a tenuous position since spring," Izzo said in the press release. "There were multiple obligations that Chris had to meet in order to return for his senior season. While he did make progress through the summer, he has failed to meet all the obligations and will not be a part of our program this fall.

"I know he's going to be a great player. He deserves another chance to play basketball somewhere, but it’s in everyone’s best interest that it be somewhere other than Michigan State. Like every player, he has to mature a little bit. I think a year away from the game will be beneficial for his development as a person and a player."

Chris Allen has been dismissed from the Michigan State basketball team.
(photo credit: Washington Post)

Well, that's that, and in this case, the "that" could very well be for the best.

Its pretty difficult to get kicked off a team by Tom Izzo. In fact, up to this point in Tom Izzo's 15 career at Michigan State, it has been impossible. Allen is the first player he has had to kick off the team. Consider that for a second. How much of a distraction must Allen have been for Izzo to make this decision? When Izzo suspended Allen before the Big Ten tournament, he claimed Allen was not a good teammate, saying:

He's just got to learn that he has a responsibility, whether it's curfews, whether it's a practice, whether it's caring about one another, if I tell guys they’ve got to do stuff with each other.

If Allen was this much of a distraction, isn't it best that the Spartans move forward without him?

Allen can play. He averaged 8.2 ppg, played 25.5 minutes, and was regarded as the Spartans most dangerous three point threat, hitting a team best 59 triples. That perimeter shooting threat may be what MSU misses the most, but there is still plenty of talent on this roster to replace Allen. Kalin Lucas will be returning from the achilles injury that ended his NCAA Tournament. Durrell Summers is back, as is Korie Lucious. Perhaps most important is freshman Keith Appling, who may just be good enough to make Sparty forget about Allen.

Allen, who will be able to transfer and get eligible for the 2011-2012 season, wasted an opportunity to play in his third straight Final Four. And while he d the talent to be a valuable piece for the Spartans, he was clearly creating a divide in the locker. As they say, sometimes it is addition by subtraction.

Who doesn't feel better once the headache goes away?