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Post by motorcitysam on Jan 21, 2022 23:57:16 GMT -5
Spartans got back on track with a road win over #8 Wisconsin tonight.
Got a good look at freshman Max Christie, who was a five star recruit in the class of 2021. He's coming along nicely. He's been named Big Ten freshman of the week five times this season and he had a very solid game against the Badgers, putting up 12 points on 5-7 shooting and committing no turnovers in 34 minutes. Solid line for a frosh in such a hostile environment.
On one hand, the Spartans don't miss Emoni Bates, who committed and then de-committed before choosing Memphis. On the other hand, I think Bates would be playing a lot better with the Spartans than he has with Memphis.
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 2, 2022 17:33:42 GMT -5
Yesterday's win over Maryland ensures that the Spartans will not have a losing record on the season. Last time the Spartans had a losing record? 1987-88 season. Jud was the coach and Steve Smith was a freshman. The following year they went 18-15; former Titan assistant/current MSU assistant Mark Montgomery was on that squad. The year after that, they went 28-6; current Spartan assistant Dwayne Stephenson was a freshman on that team.
34 years since the last losing season. Spartan fan or not, that's impressive.
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 16, 2022 20:11:52 GMT -5
The Spartans struggles lately have a familiar ring: Too many turnovers, inconsistent point guard play, and no superstar that they can go to for a bucket when they need one. AJ Hoggard is greatly improved as a point guard from his freshman season, averaging 6 points and 5 assists, but he's a sophomore and can be up and down. Mid major transfer point guard Tyson Walker is finding Big Ten defenses tougher than the ones he saw at Northeastern, and has also been inconsistent. Gabe Brown is a valuable player and leader, but he's the leading score at 12 per game, which means some other guys aren't living up to expectations. Makik Hall has doubled his scoring average to 10 per game and his shooting percentages are greatly improved, but he's being asked to do more than he can sometimes.
I wonder how Rocket Watts would be playing for the Spartans had he not transferred to Mississippi State. I think he would be playing well, having benefitted from a normal off season with practices and workouts and having another year of experience. On the other hand, he's struggling at the other MSU, coming off the bench and averaging 4 points per game with bad shooting numbers.
The Spartans do have the potential to bring a lot of players back. Even seniors Gabe Brown and Marcus Bingham are eligible for that extra Covid year. The Spartans have a couple of solid big men recruits signed for 2022. 2021-22 has been better than 2020-21 for MSU. I expect that 2022-23 will continue the upward trajectory.
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Post by Commissioner on Feb 16, 2022 20:25:04 GMT -5
The Spartans struggles lately have a familiar ring: Too many turnovers, inconsistent point guard play, and no superstar that they can go to for a bucket when they need one. AJ Hoggard is greatly improved as a point guard from his freshman season, averaging 6 points and 5 assists, but he's a sophomore and can be up and down. Mid major transfer point guard Tyson Walker is finding Big Ten defenses tougher than the ones he saw at Northeastern, and has also been inconsistent. Gabe Brown is a valuable player and leader, but he's the leading score at 12 per game, which means some other guys aren't living up to expectations. Makik Hall has doubled his scoring average to 10 per game and his shooting percentages are greatly improved, but he's being asked to do more than he can sometimes. I wonder how Rocket Watts would be playing for the Spartans had he not transferred to Mississippi State. I think he would be playing well, having benefitted from a normal off season with practices and workouts and having another year of experience. On the other hand, he's struggling at the other MSU, coming off the bench and averaging 4 points per game with bad shooting numbers. The Spartans do have the potential to bring a lot of players back. Even seniors Gabe Brown and Marcus Bingham are eligible for that extra Covid year. The Spartans have a couple of solid big men recruits signed for 2022. 2021-22 has been better than 2020-21 for MSU. I expect that 2022-23 will continue the upward trajectory. Maybe we can yet get Rocket to Detroit. I think he'd be an exceptional HL player. I think his skill set is really a fit for our league.
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 16, 2022 20:34:58 GMT -5
The Spartans struggles lately have a familiar ring: Too many turnovers, inconsistent point guard play, and no superstar that they can go to for a bucket when they need one. AJ Hoggard is greatly improved as a point guard from his freshman season, averaging 6 points and 5 assists, but he's a sophomore and can be up and down. Mid major transfer point guard Tyson Walker is finding Big Ten defenses tougher than the ones he saw at Northeastern, and has also been inconsistent. Gabe Brown is a valuable player and leader, but he's the leading score at 12 per game, which means some other guys aren't living up to expectations. Makik Hall has doubled his scoring average to 10 per game and his shooting percentages are greatly improved, but he's being asked to do more than he can sometimes. I wonder how Rocket Watts would be playing for the Spartans had he not transferred to Mississippi State. I think he would be playing well, having benefitted from a normal off season with practices and workouts and having another year of experience. On the other hand, he's struggling at the other MSU, coming off the bench and averaging 4 points per game with bad shooting numbers. The Spartans do have the potential to bring a lot of players back. Even seniors Gabe Brown and Marcus Bingham are eligible for that extra Covid year. The Spartans have a couple of solid big men recruits signed for 2022. 2021-22 has been better than 2020-21 for MSU. I expect that 2022-23 will continue the upward trajectory. Maybe we can yet get Rocket to Detroit. I think he'd be an exceptional HL player. I think his skill set is really a fit for our league. I'd love that. I think he could have a serious impact in the HL. I expect that he would need to sit out a season if he transfers again, but maybe not, given the inconsistent ways of the NCAA. Even with a sit out year, I'd love to bring him back home. Watts sat out tonight for Mississippi State due to an arm injury.
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Post by motorcitysam on Feb 26, 2022 21:56:02 GMT -5
With today's win over Purdue, Tom Izzo is tied with Bobby Knight for most wins at a Big Ten school, at 662.
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 19, 2022 23:26:54 GMT -5
I noticed an interesting dynamic on Detroit sports radio and social media leading up to Friday's game between MSU and Davidson. There seemed to be a lot of fans and media members gleefully anticipating the possibility of former Spartan Foster Loyer leading Davidson to a victory. Lots of talk about "Izzo just held this kid back" and "the Spartans never should have let him go". Many pointed out how well Loyer had played this season for the Wildcats.
Of course, what happened was MSU won and Loyer's struggles in the game showed just why Michigan State doesn't miss him. Loyer has always played well against mid major competition and struggled against the Big Ten. Against the Spartans, he shot 3-9 from the floor, 1-5 from three. AJ Hoggard, the sophomore MSU point guard cut into Loyer's playing time as a freshman last season, scored 14 points for the Spartans, making several crucial baskets during the Spartans comeback.
This isn't one of Izzo's typical tough and deep teams, but I didn't think they were going to lose to Davidson.
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Post by motorcitysam on May 6, 2022 23:34:04 GMT -5
Michigan State's Malik Hall graduated from Michigan State in 3 years. Student Athlete.
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Post by motorcitysam on May 13, 2022 15:06:14 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Jun 9, 2022 17:48:28 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Jun 29, 2022 9:46:10 GMT -5
Interesting off season so far for the Spartans. They lost guys like Max Christie, Gabe Brown, and Marcus Bingham as they pursued pro options. Julius Marble transferred. Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard return at the point, and Malik Hall, Joey Hauser, and Mady Sissoko return up front. Izzo is hoping for big improvements from sophomores to be Jaden Aikens and Pierre Brooks. But the Spartans didn't get anyone from the portal and their incoming class is not highly ranked. I'm not sure where the scoring comes from for MSU next season, but I expect Izzo has a plan.
The Spartans were only 23-13, 11-9 in 2021-22. Good for a lot of programs, but that's the second "down year" in a row for Michigan State.
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Post by motorcitysam on Jul 30, 2022 14:35:14 GMT -5
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Post by motorcitysam on Aug 2, 2022 20:04:51 GMT -5
Michigan State's good run in recruiting continues as the Spartans get a commitment from top 100 SG/SF Gehrig Normand out of Texas. The Spartans are probably hoping he turns into a Matt McQuaid type. 247sports.com/player/gehrig-normand-46118022/
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Post by upbasketballfan on Aug 3, 2022 8:44:36 GMT -5
Michigan State's good run in recruiting continues as the Spartans get a commitment from top 100 SG/SF Gehrig Normand out of Texas. The Spartans are probably hoping he turns into a Matt McQuaid type. 247sports.com/player/gehrig-normand-46118022/ McQuaid is now a part of Izzo’s staff and was probably instrumental in the recruitment of Normand. McQuaid is from Duncanville which is in the Dallas Ft. Worth area as is Normands school Birdville. The two high schools are 33 miles apart.
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Post by motorcitysam on Aug 3, 2022 9:02:34 GMT -5
Michigan State's good run in recruiting continues as the Spartans get a commitment from top 100 SG/SF Gehrig Normand out of Texas. The Spartans are probably hoping he turns into a Matt McQuaid type. 247sports.com/player/gehrig-normand-46118022/ McQuaid is now a part of Izzo’s staff and was probably instrumental in the recruitment of Normand. McQuaid is from Duncanville which is in the Dallas Ft. Worth area as is Normands school Birdville. The two high schools are 33 miles apart. Good catch, UP. Thanks for the information. I didn't know that.
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