OldZone

Because the students were gone on break, and considering the champagne crowd wasn't going to provide the needed atmosphere for the rival badgers, the MSU athletic dept threw together an izzone alumni section. Long story short; ate some decent food in the auxilary (practice) gym, listened to a Q&A with Izzone, got a t-shirt and saw the game from row 3. Not bad.

Draymond Green is very, very impressive from 200'. From 20' he's amazing. His hands have got to be the best on the team. Better than a guard. His quickness and footwork are so deceptive, at least on offense, you almost can't stop him. His defensive footwork from 12' and out was sketchy as he got crossed up a couple of times and also committed some bad perimeter fouls. He's still amazing to watch in terms of athleticism for his size.

Lucas is having a great early season when you consider the abuse he's taking. The new theory seems to be to disrupt his timing and balance. It is largely working. It isn't obvious at full speed but in replays you can see guards and help defenders bumping and jabbing at Lucas as he drives. The fouls aren't getting called and his timing and speed are neutralized. Its obvious at game speed from the 3rd row, no replay needed. If he doesn't start getting calls it could be a long season for Lucas. He's not big enough to take the bumps and probably wouldn't be as effective with more weight. Very similar to the problem Neitzel had. Neitzel tried to bulk up, and in my opinion, suffered for it. If the calls don't change I guess the only option is to bait players in to more obvious fouls with more hesitation (getting them in the air or off balance, clutching) or going Iverson. Just go hard and don't be afraid to hit the floor.

Roe is looking more explosive and decisive. The latter is more impressive than the former. Few players on this team have a mean streak and finish with any emotion. Even Summers, who can certainly explode, doesn't do it with anger. Green shows flashes of the same. You see it in his eyes where he decides, no matter where on the floor, he's going past his defender and over whoever gets in the way. And he's dunking. No layups. No floaters. "Just know if you step in front of me you are going to earn this charge." I like that. Raymar could benefit from playing with some aggression on offense. He's mismatch and needs to learn to expect contact and power through it.

I really, really like how Allen has improved on defense. He looks less like Chris Hill and more like...David Thomas. He's a good athlete that needed to work on positioning, anticipating, and focus. He was often way out of position, had no clue where his man was or was trying to end up, and would go through long streaks of not defending anyone. He looks a lot sharper. He also decided that scoring can happen inside the arc, which should improve his looks from outside the arc. Last year at this time you didn't have to even consider Allen putting it on the floor or pulling up from 10' on a drive. Now that you have to respect that, at least a little, he should get more open looks from 3. Now if he could get the shot off a little quicker...

Nix is much like Draymond in that he is a much better athlete than people might think. His footwork is there, the hands are very good, his shooting touch and confidence are just off. Obviously from the line, but also underneath. He gets some amazing shots off but misses the bunnies. Suton used to frustrate in the same ways. Make a great move, get a wide open look, and miss. Nix starts with better footwork than Suton so the improvement should come more quickly.

MSU vs Iowa today should be a blowout. I don't like teams that fire up 3's for 50% of their offense. I've said that over and over. You can lose to any team that gets hot. Hell, The Citadel almost did it this year hitting 7 3's in the first 10 minutes. Once a team gets hot from deep its almost impossible to step out far enough on defense. Hot shooters (like Respert would get) barely cross half court before pulling up. Weathering storms, converting free throws, and hitting the defensive glass are very important against the Iowa/NW/UM's of the league. Every possession counts double in these games because Iowa will run the clock down before hitting a 3 or getting to the line.

Iowa is bad, however, on defense. Roe, Summers, and Raymar should do well. Since Iowa is worst in the conference in field goal defense, giving up 46%+ from the field, they will have to step out on Lucas, Allen, and Summers. Roe and Morgan should benefit from this, as well as Green with his knack for tipping rebounds back. Summers could also step backdoor for a dunk or two on an overplay. I like MSU by quite a lot.

MSU - 75
IA --- 58