Mikey D

Okay, take a second to decipher this tweet from Draymond Green after the UNC game:

“And on my Spartans were young by I got some young hungry goons who's starvin to eat we're gonna take some growing pains but boy WATCH OUT!!!”

In one poorly written sentence, I think Draymond summarizes what we already feel about this Spartan basketball team. It’s going to be a little rough early, they’ll be some punch-the-wall, scream “Nooooo, why did you do that?” type moments, but once everything settles, this MSU team might be pretty good.

I honestly haven’t read anything truly negative about the game Friday night. How often does that happen after a 12-point loss? I think everyone is ecstatic about the grit and effort, the play of our freshmen, and the rebounding, despite the poor shooting and foul troubles. This year is unique in that expectations are lower, but they’re also realistic. The fan base understands we’re asking two freshmen, a transfer, and two redshirt freshmen (one coming off injury) to play major minutes, contribute, and gel with the returning members of the team. It’s going to take time and patience.

That is what made Friday’s effort so surprising. We destroyed the heralded frontcourt of Zeller and Henson- NBA guys- on the boards. That was not supposed to happen. Gentlemen, I say this proudly, MSU basketball, the brand we know and love, is back. I only hope we continue to beat down teams physically as the year progresses.

Alright, onto some thoughts:

Branden Dawson- As you know, I’m a recruiting junkie, and I flipped out when we got this guy last summer. Here’s what I said about him last August when he became a Spartan:

“Branden Dawson is a rebounding machine that is coming to play for Tom Izzo. That’s just downright scary. It’s hard to compare Dawson to any particular player from MSU’s past, but it seems like he’s got the versatility of a Raymar, the hops of Durrell, and has the potential to be the type of player Jason Richardson was. There is definite reason to be VERY excited about this kid. He’s probably our biggest recruit since Shannon Brown.”

So, are you excited yet? It’s rare, in a freshman’s first game, that he lives up to his billing. Dawson was everywhere on the court, and in my opinion, one of the main reasons we built an early lead, and one of the main reasons we lost the lead when he went out. His athleticism is unreal, and he’s going to bother a lot of teams with his feistiness and nose for the ball. I think my favorite play from Dawson was when he came back from his injury and promptly drilled a 19-foot jumper. Seriously, it’s been awhile since we’ve had a freshmen this good, this early.

Travis Trice- Messageboards are alive with people wanting Trice to start at PG, and Appling at SG. While I think that makes sense because Appling is a true SG, I don’t know if it will happen because of our lack of depth at PG. If Lucious was still on the team, then yes. But it’s pretty clear that Trice has true PG skills, and that the offense flows with him on the floor. He’s got some growing pains to go through, but the kid has no fear. He looked miniature next to all the UNC players, but still was not intimidated. He’s a coach’s son, and I have a feeling you’re going to hear “he’s got an understanding of the game” more times than you’ll be able to count. I’m excited for his growth, and we’re going to need it because he’s going to have to play major minutes.

Austin Thornton/Russell Byrd- Byrd just isn’t ready to play yet. He really hasn’t played in two years because of injuries, and it’s obvious he’s trying to work his way back in. Going against an athletic UNC team, probably not the best place to do it, but I think that’s why Thornton got so many minutes. Once Byrd gets his legs under him, he’ll take some of Thornton’s minutes, I guarantee it. Byrd has something Thornton doesn’t- a shooting touch. In the exhibition game against Hillsdale, Byrd nailed two, nothing but net, 3-pointers that were a beauty to behold. Just be patient. There’s a reason he had big schools like Kentucky going after him in high school.

Draymond Green- 18 rebounds!?! Didn’t feel like it, but it’s true. Happy with that, but unhappy with a 6-19 FG night. Look, it was a poor shooting night for all the Spartans, but Draymond is our senior captain, and as he goes offensively, so do the Spartans. It’s pretty similar to Lucas’s situation last year. We can sit here and cross our fingers that someone else steps up (Appling, Wood?), but I think if Draymond’s on shooting the ball- especially from 3-MSU will be very tough to beat.

Alex Gauna- Okay, he got pressed into action because of foul trouble to Nix and Payne, which is going to happen more than once this year. Not surprising it happened against the talent of UNC’s bigs, and will probably happen again against Duke’s talented frontcourt as well, but I thought he held his own. The stat line won’t tell you that, but you have to realize this was his first ever game as a Spartan going against NBA talent. That’s a tough assignment. To me, he showed some poise, made some nice passes, and was there down low banging. The game didn’t look too big for him, you know? I think he’ll get better and be a real contributor by year’s end.

Keith Appling- Point guard or shooting guard, he’s got to show a little more control. Honestly, he looks the same as last year, which is a little disappointing. Joe Rexrode pointed out that he needs to learn to pull up and hit a mid-range shot, which I agree with him wholeheartedly. Appling is either 3-point shooting, or driving to the rim, but there’s no in-between. He needs to add that to his game, or teams are going to be looking for the charge every time he drives.

Brandon Wood- Again, be patient with him, I think. Everybody is ripping him for being too passive, but he’s still trying to integrate himself into Izzo’s system. Playing with an unstable Appling and freshmen PG in Trice doesn’t make things easier. It was curious, however, that he was on the bench so much in the second half, especially with us being down so much and Wood being a scorer. I can only guess Izzo was unhappy with something, or he felt a taller line-up of Appling/Trice-Thornton-Dawson-Green-Payne/Nix was the better route to go. I think he’ll be a bigger part of the plan against Duke’s guards on Tuesday.

Nix and Payne- Sweet mother of mercy! Payne looks like a MAN this year. Holy crap, he added some muscle, and now he looks like a beast. That breakaway dunk he had? Jesus, I thought he was going to kill himself the way he was flying towards that basket. And Nix…it goes without saying he looks infinitely better, and his mind seems to be in the right place this year (remember the drama during the Maui tourney last year?). He was a rebounding machine Friday night. I truly do look forward to his battles with Jared Sullinger this year. Sullinger is the better player, but I think Nix will hold his own. These two guys are going to make MSU’s frontcourt pretty darn decent this year.

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Duke this Tuesday night. I know everyone is going to be making a big deal about Coach K becoming the all-time wins leader, but I don’t think it’ll factor too much into the game. This will be Duke’s 3rd game in 5 days, with a travel day to NYC to boot. So the advantage that Duke will have of being a well rested, better prepared, motivated team will be minimal I think. You might see a lot of turnovers in this game, with both teams maybe being a little tired.

What’s interesting about this game is how MSU matches up with Duke’s backcourt. I think the UNC game illustrated that we can bang down low, so the match up against the Plumlee brothers should be pretty even. But how does MSU match-up against the quickness and 3-point shooting of Austin Rivers (#2 recruit in the country, Doc’s son), Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, and Quinn Cook? Here’s where I’m hoping Appling steps up and has his best game as a Spartan, but I’m not holding my breath. I’m super worried about Trice and his ability as a defender in this one, and I think this is one where Wood needs to play major minutes and contribute heavily, both offensively and defensively. And Thornton needs to play meaningful minutes as well, and hit a few buckets. He’s going to get at least 10-15 minutes, he just can’t take up space.

Those are tons of ifs, but the x-factors will be Green and Dawson. Looking over Duke’s line-up, it’s tough to see them matching up against these guys. Again, if Green is on, we will be right there at the end with Duke. If Dawson continues to get garbage buckets with his relentless motor, that can neutralize some of the deficiencies we have in the backcourt.

I think Duke has a 60-40 chance of winning this game. I have no idea the line on this game, but I feel like we will lose a close one to the more experienced and better offensively Duke team. I’ll say something like 71-65. And this isn’t me hedging my bets, but I would not be surprised if we upset them, because we have the talent to do it. I just don’t know if we’re at the point yet where we’ve gelled enough so we can pull off the upset. But that’s why we play the game!

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One last thought: Gary Harris. This is just a big of deal as the Dawson signing. Imagine the UNC game Friday night with a legit scoring threat on the wing that UNC had to gameplan for. Everything would open up offensively. Right now teams can pack it in down low and dare us to shoot from the perimeter. That won’t happen next year. This kid will start from Day 1, right next to Dawson, and they will be great next to each other.

The great thing that Izzo has done is he has recruited Trice, and now Denzel Valentine for 2012, a tall do-it-all PG with MSU ties and is another coach’s son. Both Trice and Valentine are playmaking PGs, who look to get others involved. This is very different from Lucas, who was a primary scoring option for us. But these guys are going to utilize the talent we have- Dawson, Byrd, Harris, Payne, Nix- and create. I think in the next couple years we are going to see much better offensive efficiency because we will have two natural, smart, point guards.

But back to Harris. Not only will he be Green, but he won’t be playing for Indiana or Purdue, two of the other schools in major contention. Anytime you can add talent to your squad while another team is not getting better, that’s a major plus. And does this not sound like a Tom Izzo player?

“With Harris, the Spartans are getting a guard with great physical strength that competes on a daily basis and is always in attack mode. He will drive it hard to the basket without fear and finish with impressive body control. If left alone, he will knock down open shots out to the arc, but he does need to improve in that area. Defensively, watch him go after the opponent’s best player and take on the challenge of shutting him down. He always plays hard, no matter what -- a trait that Izzo's recruits must have.” ~Paul Biancardi, ESPN

I’m excited. MSU’s recruiting class, with Harris, is up to #4 in the ESPN rankings for 2012. I know the rankings don’t mean much, but if anything they tell you more potential talent is on the way. The future looks good.

~Mikey D