Dean Lockwood uses balanced approach to guide Michigan State women's basketball through adversity

EAST LANSING — Dean Lockwood has seen plenty in his four decades as a college basketball coach.

The fourth-year Michigan State women's basketball associate head coach has served in all kinds of roles — from being a men's head coach at Saginaw Valley and Northwood to serving as an assistant under one of the giants of women's basketball, legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt.

But nothing can compare to the experience Lockwood has endured since becoming the Spartans' acting head coach in late January. Lockwood took over after coach Suzy Merchant had what MSU has described as a medical incident on Jan. 28. She has not returned to the sidelines.

Merchant remains in contact with the program and Lockwood said her spirits are good. He anticipates leading the Spartans for the remainder of the season as Merchant continues to recover.

"I look at this as I'm serving this program," Lockwood said. "Any role that's needed, I'm happy to fill."

A big believer in balance

Lockwood's steadying presence and experience have been vital in keeping things afloat for the Spartans. In addition to leading the team in Merchant's absence, he's also helped his players navigate the aftermath of the Feb. 13 shooting on campus that killed three and injured five.

Despite these obstacles, MSU takes momentum into this week's Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis. The Spartans (15-13) are the No. 9 seed and have won four of their last five games entering a 12:30 p.m. Thursday matchup against No. 8 seed Nebraska.

"It's not been without challenge for sure, but I'm a big believer in balance," said Lockwood, who has guided MSU to a 4-4 mark. "This comes from people that I've been around. You can't let your circumstances define you. You've got to have a balance and you've got to have a consistency of who you are every day and that's what I've strived to do. Be the same and kind of have the same focus and let the players see the same person every single day."

Players say Lockwood has excelled at just that.

Sophomore DeeDee Hagemann said Lockwood has always been level-minded and been someone players could go to. Junior Julia Ayrault is thankful for the steadiness he provides.

"I don't think people understand how great of a job he's done," Ayrault said. "He's been just a rock in a time when I think we all really needed it. He's really done a good job of helping people work through their emotions, work through anything — even if it's off the floor. He just wants us to be good as human beings first and I think he's done a really good job of taking it individually and talking to each person.

"He's done a great job and it is obviously a difficult position for him, too. He's the same every day."

Experience navigating adversity

While the circumstances this season are unique, Lockwood said it does strike some similarities to when he was an assistant at Tennessee in Summitt's final season. Summitt had revealed her diagnosis of early-onset dementia, which led to uncertainty.

"That was a very different year than any other year in terms of just your day-to-day operations and what the future held," Lockwood said. "In some ways it is very different and in some ways it's a little reminiscent. Coaching every year is different and every team is different but the rhythms of it are the same. The rhythms of this year have been a little different.

"Again, you do what you have to do. It's like anything that's unforeseen. You improvise, you adapt, you overcome. You have to be able to adjust to changes and the changing landscape. That's what we've tried to do here."

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Women's basketball: Dean Lockwood's steadiness carrying Michigan State