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Michigan State’s Gary Harris ready to return from ankle injury

Michigan State sophomore guard Gary Harris averaged 12.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on his way to Big Ten freshman of the year honors this past season, and that’s with him battling through injuries.

About a month and a half ago, another injury has plagued the Spartans shooting guard as he has been sidelined with an ankle injury. Harris expects to be cleared for practice next week, according to ESPN College Basketball Insider Jeff Goodman.

“If there were a game right now, I would play,” Harris told ESPN. “I’m probably about 75 percent.

“I was lucky,” Harris added. “I thought it was worse than it wound up being.”

A healthy Harris coupled with four returning starters is why Michigan State sits within the top 3 of some polls, even bumping Kentucky for the No. 1 spot in several preseason polls. Harris had the chance to be a one-and-done, but elected to return to East Lansing for his sophomore season. According to Diamond Leung of MLive.com, Harris has bulked up a little bit from his freshman year to 210-pounds. The added size will hopefully keep him on the floor because Tom Izzo has big plans for his two-guard in 2013-2014.

“We’re going to use him in 100 different ways,” Izzo said. “He’ll have the ball in his hands more, more pick-and-rolls for him, more pick-and-pops. He’s also really improved his ability to shoot off the dribble and pull up on a dime.”

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