Wednesday Night Links
- Game Time Changed For Men’s Basketball Big Ten Opener
Tip-off on December 31 will be at noon, not 6:00, so Gopher fans can watch their football team. - The Minnesota Athletic Department still knows how to screw over their fans
From the Barn points out most Minnesota fans still can’t watch the football game, since it’s on the NFL Network. - TEXAS POINT GUARD A WORK IN PROGRESS
Jeff Goodman says the Longhorns are focusing on defense this year. - Lethargic Badgers Need To Fight Fire With Fire
Wisconsin looking very un-Wisconsinlike. - Unverified Voracity Is Writing A Comparative Lit Thesis
Just how good is Laval Lucas-Perry going to be in a Wolverine uniform? - The fates make us wait
“It feels like the Twilight Zone around Michigan parts, these days. Nobody wants to talk football, it’s all basketball now.” (No kidding: Two UM blog basketball links tonight–and neither is from UMHoops.) - Devendorf may be suspended by Syracuse
One-time MSU commit’s college career may not be ending well. - Suns get high-scoring Richardson from Cats
Jason Richardson’s moving to Phoenix. - Five Big Ten players nominated for Rudy Award
Otis! Otis! Otis!
Coffee Talk
We haven’t had a full-fledged basketball Coffee Talk in a while–partly because I’m having a hard time coming up with interesting questions. Try this one on:
With our recent discussions generally being of the “what’s going wrong?” nature, let’s focus on the positive for a day. What MSU basketball player or trend has been most encouraging to you through the first seven games?
One of the more encouraging trends i noticed in stats recently
is the efficiency of the shooting of Travis Walton, Durrell Summers (seemed like his efficiency was phenomenal last year) and Marquise Gray.
I may not be correctly identifying this as efficiency but it seemed that they
(all 3 players) had high percentages for making shots. What it said to me
at the time reading was that the 3 of them were doing a good job of nailing a shot if it was there and NOT shooting if not a good opportunity.
Obviously only Summers should be taking tons of shots of those 3 players but if all 3 have good judgement of when they should be shooting, some key baskets will be scored as teams focus on Lucas, Allen and Morgan.
I’m really pulling for Quise because he really seems like he has worked so hard the last 5 years and his body language seems to suggest he is really really trying. When Izzo or one of the coaches are talking to him,
he looks like he is listening hard and taking it in, humble.
Another bright spot is Both Roe and Green (at this very early stage)
seeming to have a very good basketball, in-game IQ. Green, especially has been a surprise and his chance to contribute with Suton
out, though, doesn’t speak well to Herzog and ID losing out on his minutes.
Izzo says that the players determine their minutes. Green definitely seems to making the most of his though OF COURSE still some freshman mistakes especially on defensive switching. His rebounding and defense one on one in the paint though are pleasant surprises.
Just how smart Roe is with the ball and his general basketball skills. The guy just seems to be really advanced over where the average freshman is. His outlet passing, especially, and passing in general. He seems to play pretty good defense and rebounds well.
I still think its fun watching Kalin. I love his jets. I am encouraged with his low turnover rate.
Green is the one I am most disappointed with. I can’t believe he is playing as much as he is. He is 6’5” post player. Over 7 games he averages 11 min’s a game. For his 11 min’s he gives us 3 reb. and 1.8 pts a game. The test was a bust lets move on.
i just like seeing roe try very hard every night. i think hell be a stud by end of the year, inspite of his knees, which as youve wrote, are getting better every day.
staitshootr, I’d cut Green a bit of a break. He’s been more than adequate as a rebounder (OffReb% of 10.2, Def Reb% of 25.8). He’s hasn’t brought anything to the table on offense (4-16 FG shooting) but he hasn’t turned the ball over, either.
Anyway, his role should be reduced once Suton returns.
The most encouraging things I’ve noticed are:
1) Suton’s injury does not appear serious judging by the results of the arthroscopic surgery he went through. Hopefully he will be back in top form soon.
2) Roe has played pretty well, especially for a freshman in the post, and seems to be working himself into basketball shape. Again, the fact that there have been no knee-related setbacks is encouraging.
3) After a cold start, Allen seems to be heating up from the perimeter. We absolutely need a consistent threat from the perimeter in order to keep defenses honest, and he looks like he may be able to provide it.
4) Gray and Walton are giving us more offensively than I thought they would.
5) Lucas has played well except for poor shooting – he rarely turns the ball over and has unbelievable quickness. If he could find his shot he would be virtually unstoppable.
Thank you for that stat. Does that mean he gets that % of rebounds that are available while hes on the floor? I have more to argue except this is suppose to be a positve thread. I stand by my comments.
I like all 5 points from Marc in DC.
Yes, those numbers are estimates of the percentage of available rebounds Green has pulled down when he’s on the floor. His defensive rebounding % is the best on the team at the moment. His offensive rebounding % is pretty respectable. You can see last year’s individual rebounding % figures at the bottom of this page:
http://kenpom.com/sr.php?team=Michigan%20St.&y=2008
The early bright spot for me is the entire freshman class. All of them are better than I expected. Roe will be great before he is done here, Green is a lot more than the project I thought he would turn out to be and Lucious seems both lightning quick and fearless. My sense is all three have very high b-ball IQ. Also, the silver lining on Suton’s iinjury is that Roe and Green in particular have gotten valuable experience, which I think will pay dividends down the line.
To me, the most positive is the freshmen’s performance: Roe seems a smart, able player (occasional good passing), Green looks like a sincere, hard-working player, and Lucious seems as fast as Lucas.
Walton’s offense was surprising, which I hope to continue.
Also, I was happy to see Thornton play some time. I cheer for his diligent involvement in plays.
One of the bright spots is Austin Thornton. He is one of those players we’ve always had at State that will dive for balls and hustle every minute he is out there. He is obviously still somewhat raw, but he has tenacity, a nice three-point stroke, and is a better defender than a number of other players. I wish more of our players played with the desire he shows.
yea boy kalin lucas is my boy but he needs to step up. His back up is pretty boss the other day i found this video. it is money and could be the next spartons theme song