Goran Suton, all 6 feet 10 inches of him, is full of gratitude.

The Michigan State senior center says he's grateful coach Tom Izzo pushed him to become tougher and stronger on the basketball court, essentially demanding Suton's dedication to the game.

Suton will lead MSU in its national semifinal Saturday against Connecticut. He was named most outstanding player of the Midwest Regional after scoring 19 points to go with 10 rebounds Sunday in the Spartans' 64-52 win against Louisville.

"I love the game now," Suton says. "I didn't love it before. I know the difference. If I'm not in the gym one day, I miss it. I have to go back. I have to go do something related to basketball."

His five years at MSU, including his redshirt freshman season, have been largely considered a work in progress. Yet Suton always was optimistic about his future and his team's.

"He's there for everybody," says point guard Kalin Lucas. "If you're down, he'll pick you up."

The glass is always half-full for Suton, whether talking about his sport or his affinity for his native Bosnia-Herzegovina, which his family fled after war broke out in 1992. They initially went to Serbia.

"In everything bad, there's something good," he says. "That's kind of what my motto is. As bad as it seems, there are still beautiful things that happened to me when I was living over there."

The family faced tremendous hardship, but Suton focuses on the good times. "I remember friends, school, family get-togethers, all the little things that make life a joy," he says.

He has fond memories of playing soccer before the war, but he also recalls that as a 6-year-old he was kicking a soccer ball the day missiles started dropping near his home outside Sarajevo.

"We heard loud noises and gunshots," he says. "Parents ran out and told us to get inside."

When the Sutons returned years later, only the second floor of their home was inhabitable because the rest had been burned. The grass in their backyard had grown several feet. No one dared cut it, for fear of mines.

Ultimately, before Suton started high school, his parents decided to move to Lansing, Mich., where his father, Miroslav, had a brother and sister.

Suton mentioned to a Bosnian coach where he was headed. At the time, Suton had never heard of the Final Four. "The coach was a big fan of college basketball," Suton says. "He said, 'You're going to where Michigan State is.' "

While playing at Lansing's Everett High, which won a state title his senior season, Suton found out about Michigan State's basketball tradition and its 1979 and 2000 national titles.

Yet he had no idea how tough it would be to succeed in college. He didn't have the strength for the Big Ten Conference's physical play.

He averaged 3.0 points his first year after redshirting. He was reduced to tears after missing a layup in the closing seconds of a triple-overtime loss to Gonzaga.

"I remember the Gonzaga game like it was yesterday," he said after the win against Louisville. "I could have been a hero that day. You know, I think I've done a lot of growing up since that day."

This season Suton is averaging 10.4 points, second on the team behind Lucas' 14.6. In the NCAA tournament, Suton leads the team with averages of 14.3 points and 11.5 rebounds.

In his first three seasons he sank only two three-pointers, but this season Suton is 18-for-43, including three against Louisville. "He's a good post player," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun says. "But he's extended his game now to (be) an incredible high-post player."

Suton is making up for lost time. In November and December he missed six games because of arthroscopic knee surgery. About two weeks after the operation, he resumed playing.

"He had to reinvent the shot that he had worked so hard to develop," Izzo says.

But Suton doesn't mind the hard work. Now he embraces it.

"I told Coach Izzo, 'I appreciate every time you push me. As much as I don't like it sometimes, I appreciate it.' This is the best thing that's happened to me and the team."