Mikey D

-Raymar Morgan looks great, even with two sprained ankles. Without Raymar Morgan, we don't win against Gonzaga, plain and simple. If you watched that game, you know that Morgan was the only thing we had going throughout the first half. He was the one that kept us in the game, both defensively and offensively. Lucas and Summers came on strong in the second half, but even with two wobbly ankles, Raymar was still contributing. We need that. The only question is can Raymar stay healthy enough to continue to produce? I will be optimistic and say yes, but health will be a question throughout the year. I still think he'll live up to my preseason prediction: "He will be our man on a mission, and his determination and will are going to carry us through the tough parts of the season. I expect him not only to be good, but great this year."

-If Draymond Green ever gets hurt or in foul trouble, we are, um, fucked. He's the glue that keeps us together down low. Seriously, if he got hurt (god forbid), how comfortable would you feel with MSU's already shaky low-post play? We would miss his motor, his rebounding, passing...everything. Unless some of our other bigs start making a little more progress, he will be just as vital as Kalin Lucas.

-Derrick Nix- asset or liability? At first glance you love to have a monster like that down low. He's disruptive and blocks shots with such regularity that you just expect any shot that's put up near him to go back in the shooter's face. But I do have a problem with Nix thus far. First, his free throw shooting is awful. And when I say awful, that may be an understatement. 1 of 13? He quite possibly might be the worst free-throw shooter...ever! How long before the "hack-a-Nix" philosophy comes into play? And how can Izzo even put Nix on the floor in close games? Answer: he can't. I am also unhappy with Nix's motor at times. Yes, he's a hefty 280 (down from 330), but I cannot stand when players take plays off. There have been a couple times he has been beaten down the court, allowed uncontested shots, and has just basically stood in his spot while rebound opportunities pass him by. If he's that out of shape or tired, he needs less minutes.

-Tom Herzog needs more minutes. He actually looks bigger this year, even though he's still paper thin. But last night against Toledo he had a nice and-one play where he out muscled a defender. So far this season he's been high energy and effective off the bench. He gets the Izzo philosophy (defense and rebounding), and I'd actually like to see him more. Perhaps give him some of the minutes that are going to the other freshman, Sherman?

-Perhaps Thornton needs a few more minutes as well. As I told Adam last night, I feel like we know what we have in Chris Allen. He's not a big time shooter, but he plays solid defense and will come up with 4-5 assists a game. He is what he is. It's not that I have anything against Allen, but why not see what we have in Thornton? Every time he comes into the game he is all over the place. Maybe I just like hustle players, but why not give Thornton some meaningful minutes in some big games early in the season? If he can't hack it, well, then we'd know. But if he can we'll have another useful guy to utilize come March when/if Allen struggles.

-Delvon Roe is not what he was touted to be. He doesn't have a low-post game. Even against the couple of cupcakes we've played so far he's looked absolutely terrible trying to put moves on defenders and throwing up his shot. Maybe he's just trying to hard and forcing things, but it doesn't look like he's improved much from last year. And if you don't have a strong low-post game, well, you better be able to hit a shot from 10-feet away from the basket...which Roe cannot do. I think the most we can realistically expect from Roe is some solid rebounding games and 6-10 points on dunks and put-backs (basically what he did last night). His foul troubles have been a little disconcerting too, but hopefully that's him shaking off a list early season rust and nothing more.

~Mikey D