Mikey D

Ah, it never gets old raising one of these bad boys, does it? It was one hell of a tournament run last year, that’s for sure. The injuries, the close games, and the buzzer beater- it was improbable to say the least, but a joy to witness. The tournament run is what I’ll remember most- and be the most proud of- about the 2009-2010 Spartans. But other than that, the season was, well, forgettable.

I have to be honest. Other than the tournament, it was tough watching MSU basketball last year. We had such high expectations, perhaps too high, but injuries and suspensions ravaged our roster and team play. Sure it was great watching Lucas drill jumpers to beat Michigan and Minnesota, but let’s be real- we should have beaten both of those teams handily. The team never clicked on or off the court. The chemistry was never there.

So when the season ended with that two-point loss to Butler (fuck them) there was a mixture of disappointment and relief. I was just glad to get on with the off season and start the next chapter. You know, the chapter of MSU basketball where guys weren’t getting suspended because of grades, or being a “bad teammate”, or getting hurt every other game. I was ready for a fresh start.

Unfortunately, the off season was nothing but more stress. The whole Izzo to the Cavs ordeal, Chris Allen being dismissed from the team, Korie Lucious receiving a DUI (2-4 game suspension), and the almost sexual assault charges against to MSU players this past September- it’s been tiring. To top it all off, our team is still not 100% healthy. Lucas, Roe, Green, Thornton, Lucious, Byrd, Sherman, Gauna, and Payne all have been down and out for some period of time over the summer and early fall.

“[Kalin] and Durrell spend more time in this building than I do. I said I needed them to be focused and do the things they need to do. And so far this year they’ve demonstrated that.”
~Tom Izzo


It will definitely be interesting to see how this team meshes. With some outgoing troublesome players, some new faces, and some motivated guys, I'm hoping that this team puts together a season we will be proud of from start to finish.

So what's our roster looking like? From seniors to freshmen, here's a look:
MSU 2010-2011 Roster
Kalin Lucas-G (senior)
Durrell Summers-G (senior)
Mike Kebler-G (senior)
Anthony Ianni-C (senior)
Delvon Roe-F (junior)
Draymond Green-F (junior)
Korie Lucious-G (junior)
Austin Thornton-G (junior)
Derrick Nix-C (sophomore)
Garrick Sherman-C (sophomore)
Russell Byrd-G (freshman)
Keith Appling-G (freshman)
Adriean Payne-F (freshman)
Alex Gauna-C (freshman)

Throughout the summer it's been pretty well known that Izzo would like to start Draymond Green at the 3-spot. So Green has spent the majority of his off season losing weight (looks like a success) to become quicker, as well as hone his outside shot (looked pretty good in the first exhibition game). Here's how I think Izzo would like his starting line-up to look:

PG- Kalin Lucas
SG- Durrell Summers
SF- Draymond Green
PF- Delvon Roe
C- Derrick Nix/Garrick Sherman

This line-up is the most logical. You've got your most experienced players starting, which makes sense. I think, depending on the match-ups, you could see MSU go small, moving Green and Roe to the forward spots, Durrell to the small forward, and either Lucious, Appling, or Thornton playing the two. That's the nice thing about depth; you can play around with your starting squad.

Schedule
You think Izzo scheduled tough before? Take a look at this non-conference slate:
South Carolina
Maui Invitational (potentially UConn and Kentucky/Oklahoma/Washington)
@Duke
@Syracuse
Texas

I have a feeling we'll find out real quick if this squad is for real. I'm not going to be upset if we lose at Duke or Syracuse (tough going on the road there), but if we are competitive, I'll be happy. I do, however, expect us to win the Maui Tournament and all of our home match-ups.


Moving on to the Big Ten. Here's a look at our conference schedule:
Minnesota
@Northwestern
@Penn State
Wisconsin
Northwestern
@Illinois
@Purdue
Michigan
Indiana
@Iowa
@Wisconsin
Penn State
@Ohio State
Illinois
@Minnesota
Purdue
Iowa
@Michigan

I think this schedule sets up nicely for us to start off at least 5-0. I think after our tough non-conference schedule this "easy" start to the conference season might be just what we need. There are two obvious tough stretches: the back-to-back road games against Illinois and Purdue, and the end stretch, where we play @Wisconsin, @Ohio State, @Minnesota, Illinois, and Purdue, with PSU thrown in the middle. We only play Ohio State once (what the fuck?!), as well as Indiana a single time (I want to see Izzo vs. Crean!) this year.

The Freshmen
You may already know how excited I am about these guys. We bring in a four man group: Keith Appling (PG/SG), Russell Byrd (SG/SF), Adrian Payne (PF/C), and Alex Gauna (PF/C). Gentlemen, this is a top-5 national recruiting class. We have a five-star recruit (Payne- who spurned Kentucky for us), a McDonald’s All-American guard (Appling), a four-star 6’8” SG and 61st overall player in the country (Byrd), and a home-grown talent that looks like the rebirth of Goran Suton (Gauna). Let me go one-by-one.


Starting with Payne, there’s already a lot of speculation that he’s a one-and-done type player. You know the saying: you can’t teach height. The guy is a rebounding and block machine. Throw in the fact that he apparently has quite an outside stroke and can hit the jumper away from the basket, and he may become quite the threat. Now Payne is a pretty skinny dude, and couple that with a nagging shoulder injury and he’s probably not going to have the immediate impact like some will hope. I can see him slowly being worked into the lineup and getting acclimated to Izzo’s system, finding his groove in the 2nd half of the season.

Moving on to Keith Appling. The guy is out of Detroit and he is a playmaker. The guy has no fear driving to the rim. Joe Rexrode, MSU beat reporter, said he saw some practices with Lucas and Appling both out on the floor at the same time. Scary having that kind of speed together. His outside shot does need a bit of improvement, so I’m picturing him having the same kind of impact Lucas did his first couple of years. Unfortunately with Allen being dismissed, and Byrd hurt, as well as having Lucas not 100% and Lucious suspended to start the year, Appling may have to shoulder more of a load than Izzo would have originally liked. It will be interesting to see how the young guy handles it. But he will not lack confidence: he’s already declared himself the fastest guy on the team, something that has made Lucas and Summers laugh.

Russell Byrd may find himself redshirting this year. He is an absolute marksman from downtown, and from all accounts is a team-first kind of guy. He does have, however, a nagging foot injury that he recently had to go in and get surgery on. At the very earliest he’ll be cleared for practice in January, which means once he gets in game shape he may only have a month or so to play and fit into the team. Is it worth it to have him lose that year of eligibility? That’s Izzo’s call, and I think he’ll go with a play-it-by-ear approach and address the needs of the team accordingly. Who knows if Byrd will be needed with all the injuries this team seems to get…

And then there’s Gauna. Apparently he’s a beast down low, stronger than Sherman and Payne, and just as tough as Nix and Roe. He’s raw, but he already can drill it from downtown and has some solid passing skills. He seems like a perfect example of an MSU type of basketball player. He’s another redshirt candidate, however, as he might just be the victim of a numbers game with too many low post guys already in the rotation. Waiting a year to get more playing time might be the best route to go.

Prediction
National Championship. Third year in a row, so I'm sure you're rolling your eyes again. But seriously, we haven't been too far off the past two years. I do like this team a lot more than last year's squad. I think the freshmen class is stronger, and with Nix and Sherman a bit more seasoned, I feel as if we have solid inside-outside play. We've got battle-tested juniors and seniors, so you have to like our chances come March.

Of course that prediction is only as good as our health and chemistry. For some reason this team cannot stay healthy. Who is going to be the first to fall this year? Can we stay relatively healthy throughout the season? Can the team come together and blend their talents instead of sleeping with each other's girlfriends (cough cough Chris Allen cough cough)? Can we develop that strong chemistry? If the off season is any indication, you'd have to say no to both questions. But perhaps the bone-head off the court incidents and health issues are out of their systems, and it's 110% commitment to MSU basketball.

Looking at the college landscape, Duke is the obvious team to beat. It will be interesting to see how their talented newcomers fit in (Irving and Curry), as well as how they cope with the loss of Scheyer. After us there is a laundry list of teams that have to play to prove their ranking: Kansas State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Kansas, Purdue, and North Carolina. For the second year in a row, it's wide open. Who wants it?


2010-2011 Michigan State Spartans
Record: (26-7) (#3 seed in the NCAA Tournament)
---Losses: @Duke, @Syracuse, @Illinois, @Wisconsin, @Ohio State, @Minnesota, Loss in Big Ten Tournament
Big Ten Record: 14-4 (Co-Big Ten Champs with Illinois)
Big Ten Tournament: Semifinal Loss
National Champions

And to get you in the mood for basketball:



~Mikey D