During the past month or so MSU has played consistently crappy basketball. Ignore wins over Penn State and Iowa, terrible horrible teams that should never win a BigTen game, and look more closely at LOSSES to those teams in 2008 and losses (big margin) to Indiana and Purdue.
The players said all the right things leading up to Purdue and Indiana (and post Iowa/Penn State).
- now we test ourselves against the top of the league
- we control our own destiny (for the B10 title)
- we have all the motivation we need
- blah blah we are focused
Then they lost. Then they beat 2 bad teams. At times the Spartans dominated PSU and Iowa. But they never put either team away. After being up 21-5 on Iowa they allowed the undermanned--and frankly crappy--Hawkeyes to make it a 12 point game at the half. Penn State was a blowout...but it should have been the first time. PSU is the worst team in the league. They are without their only truly legit player Claxton for the rest of the season.
MSU is bewildering. Gray has played a few good games. Neitzel is good, but not great. He doesn't get to the lane enough, and as a result, doesn't get to the free throw line enough, to be a late game threat. He has become a 3 point jump shooter almost exclusively. Against Iowa he hit a runner that looked like the triple threat Drew of old. Then it was 12 straight deep jumpers. He scored 20 on almost that many shots. That isn't good enough. The guards ALL need to get in the lane more. Get to the line more. Our offense is run from 25+ feet and that just won't work come tournament time. You can't count on shooting 60% from the field and hitting 6 three pointers per game.
Naymick has played very well within himself. He knows what he can and can't do. He can rebound. He can defend. He can dunk. He can hit a little hook. He can skin up his knees and sacrifice his body. Other players would do well to know what they can, and can't, do.
Suton is a non factor. He's not even noticeable. He misses rebounds. He has weak hands when a rebound comes to him. He doesn't post hard or look for the ball. I can't completely blame him. The guards run around the perimeter dribbling/passing to each other for 25 seconds and then shoot a 3. We have to go inside more. We have to stop making useless passes on the perimeter. I would say that about 50% of our turnovers start OUTSIDE the 3 point line. The other 50%...
Are Raymar Morgan traveling. He is a perplexing headcase. He can DOMINATE at times. The next minute he's a joke. Here are my Morgan insights:
- he takes bad shots. 10 footers from the wing with no big man down low to rebound. that' fine when you make it every time (actually its still not ok, but...) he doesn't make it anywhere near everytime.
- he can't shoot free throws. he makes about 60%. that is unacceptable for a small forward.
- he CANNOT defend. he can't move his feet and guards with his upper body/hands, ending up in early foul trouble and mentally takes himself out of the games early due to fouls.
- he moves his feet well on offense, typically about 3-4 steps at at time before dribbling. that, my friends, is a travel. he needs a passport these days.
- he has no true emotion. i don't think he's mentally in East Lansing. physically he shows up for games and acts like he cares. i don't see heart. i don't see winning and losing in his emotions. its more going through the motions. he's not having fun and it shows.
- when he plays down low and scraps he is at his best. you can't guard him on the block.
Finally, tomorrow night the team travels to Wisconsin to play the first place Badgers for the only meeting between the two teams this year. Wisconsin is tough at home. Big Ten refs are true homers this season, more than I can ever remember. MSU has won two games in a row. They will lose this one in an UGLY game. I think Wisconsin comes out early with a lead, MSU keeps it somewhat manegable at the half (within 8) and then 4-5 minutes into the second half go on a turnover tear and lose by 18. Sorry, that's what I see from this team. No offense. Which leads to turnovers. Which leads to heads down. Which leads to bad defensive footwork and rotation (Suton and Morgan in particular) and desperation (see: shooting only 3's and gambling with risky passes). Fouls + free throws + foul trouble and you have another road loss.
Purdue will, as I said earlier in the year, continue to surprise. They will win the BigTen. Indiana will lose to MSU on senior night in East Lansing. MSU will get a 4 seed in the tourney and win a game. Beyond that its up to the team. They are still a final four caliber team. They have to decide to play smart, under control, and instinctively. Too much thinking is not good for a team this talented. Dive on the floor. Do what you do well. Play don't think. Play like 7th year Super Senior and Doctorate of Finance Candidate Naymick.
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