MSU pulls one out

Well, despite about 35 minutes of terribly sloppy and uninspired play (with the exception of about 3 guys) the Spartans pulled one out. UConn did MSU a favor by knocking off Kentucky (good luck doing that 6-8 weeks from now!) and making the loss a good loss, to the extent that is possible. Maybe I should just call it a loss rather than a bad loss.

Summers did what he needed to do, hit a jump shot. Lucious finished very strong. I like the Lucious that pulls long 3's and is willing to abort the play to go past a guy that is overplaying. Too often, for as long as I can remember at MSU, teams that extended the defense pretty much ended the game. Because the team was so set (or drilled) on running the plays no matter the situation, we would end up running our offense from just inside half court and make dangerous lateral passes because, hey, that is the guy that is supposed to get the ball and that is [roughly] where he is supposed to get it. Forget common sense. Executing the play is more important than scoring. Lucious provides the quickness and ball handling to take advantage of those situations. The next step is: don't make a hero pass or over-penetrate once you get by your defender.

Sherman had a pretty good game, but too often, "same" still limited his rebounding. That is, teammates would be the only competition for a loose ball or rebound, and yet, neither would end up with it because of bad timing and lacking communication. You can't get a stop on defense and knock a rebound loose from a teammate grasp, only to have the other team get another possession. One and done.

Roe had a terrible stat line with no points and 4 rebounds. Setting aside his apparent inability to do anything but go over the back (just watch a game, for every over the back call he gets they let 3 go) Roe didn't get many opportunities inside. The only player we give the ball to on the block is Green. Sherman got 2 looks in the second half, scored on both, and never got another. That is partially because of the extended defense and partially because the plays appear to be run primarily for guards, or at least the primary reads. I cut Roe a break on the bad stats. Maybe that is Nix's real grudge; I play 5 minutes a game, which is bad enough, but I get 2 touches --- if I get 2 rebounds. MSU is at its best getting inside, getting to the line and causing foul problems, kicking inside out, and getting 2nd chance points in the lane. There have been too many long jump shots in this young season.

All things considered, so long as Lucas gets healthy and Summers plays within himself, this team still has all the ability in the world and should be playing for a long, long time.

MSU basketball @ Maui

Too many problems.

Garrick Sherman has terrible hands. Think of it like a receiver in football; if you get your hands on it you should catch it. Sherman gets his hands on rebounds and loses them. Soft.

Summers has a very low basketball IQ. He is gifted, no doubt, but doesn't not know what to do with the ball. He is out of position. He does not anticipate. He takes bad shots and does basic things wrong, like stepping out of bounds. What is good for Summers is not good for MSU, and vice versa. That is, Summers is a spot up jump shooter, at best. He cannot and should not put it on the floor. However, everyone in the NBA can shoot. He knows that. He needs to be able to score off the bounce to play at the next level. He can't dribble and gets nervous with the ball in 1 on 1 situations. I liken it to someone that can't handle dead air. The person that says something, anything, rather than sit in silence. You can watch the discomfort as they scramble for a topic and then blurt out anything to end the deafening silence. That is Summers with the ball. Uncomfortable, forcing something, anything. Usually turning it over.

Lucious is a nightmare as a point guard. He also is lacking in basketball IQ, however, full of confidence. That means 100 mph in the wrong direction. Terrible passes, charges, early 3's. That is Korie's game. He is a tough matchup, no doubt, but better as a spark plug than an everyday playmaker.

Lucas, Appling and Green are the only players worth a healthy #2 right now.

The whole team is getting out rebounded and shooting free throws like the school for the blind after a trip to Rick's American Cafe.

But then...there are bursts. There are 2,3 and 4 minute spans where they show that potential and just DOMINATE. And then for 37 minutes they suck, badly.

Midterm Election Financing Tidbit

"It has always been known that the Chamber [of Commerce] was fighting [the health care] plan tooth and nail, but nobody knew just how aggressively until this week, when Bloomberg reported that health insurers gave the Chamber $86.2 million to battle the plan -- a staggering amount."

Well, that seems legit.

24 Hours of Basketball: MSU v S.Carolina

I haven't looked at the SoCar (same attitude as SoCal, but different) roster yet, but here is my guess: no less than 5 guys between 6'5" and 6'8". Now, you might say, "well yeah!" However, my guess is each one of them is between 190 and 210 lbs. In short, wirey. I expect they will look and play much like the Eastern Michigan player than dropped 33 on MSU last week. That, I'm afraid, could spell trouble.

As I said before, MSU will have trouble guarding the 'tweeners this year. Add in the fact that this team has nothing to lose, coming in unranked and unknown, and considering they will probably shoot at least 40% of their shots from beyond the arc...I just don't like it.

I haven't seen the roster. I'm going to take a quick peak, find some offensive stats from their first game, and come right back.

6'6" 210lb Jr, 6'9" 202lb Fr, 6'9" 210lb Sr, 6'8" 190lb Fr and a few more on the edges of the perameters. Not good. Now for the offense.

Of 66 attempts 16 were from 3. That seems low, but is misleading, since the game was dominated on the interior. In short, there was no need.

I still like MSU, but in a game that gets closer than it should.

Make it:

MSU - 73

SC - 59

MSU Basketball

This team is as deep and as talented as any team in MSU's history. Yes, I said that. Yes, this includes the teams from 1978-1980 and 1999-2001. I said best depth and talent, not best.

Lucas looks pretty good. He doesn't look as quick, in the open floor, but appears to be faster from the endline (outlet) to the offensive set (3 point range). His shot looks very smooth and he looks very, very smart on the attack. For example: In the same game he got past his man and went up and under (with the foul), got past his man and pulled up for a floater in the middle of the lane, pulled up for a long jumper off the dribble, and hit a three. He's taking what the defense gives, and doing it very well.

Roe looks healthy but not aggressive. I hope he finds a reason to get angry. If healthy he might be a very tough matchup guy for a 3/4. Also, if he improves his footwork, he will have the toughest challenges on defense, including: Jon Leuer (WI), Mike Davis (Ill), Maurice Creek (IN), Diebler/Buford (OSU), and others. The tweeners that used to be guarded by Allen and Morgan will now fall on Roe, Kebler, and sometimes Green. Roe will get the most difficult, the mobile, rangy, and physical.

Green is looking like Green. He blocked a 3 from the point, pick it out of the air and went end to end for a dunk last game. He had plenty of blocks and defended the EMU player with 33 points. That sounds bad, but the guy got a lot of junk calls and shot the ball 28 times. Green blocked at least 3 shots and stayed scrappy.

I still think Summers floats too much. He doesn't have any aggression. He will hit 3 shots and then do nothing for 12 minutes. That can't happen if this team wants to go from good to great.

Adreian Payne is a beast. If he stays 2 years he will be the most athletic player in the big 10. He will be MSU's first top 5 pick since Magic. If he stays 3 years he will have at least 1 triple double.

Keith Appling is a very, very good defender. He moves his feet as well or better than any on the ball defender on this team. I would not be surprised, if he gets enough minutes, for Appling to end the season on the all defensive team. He can also shoot and handle the ball very well. He isn't very tall, but he's strong for a true freshman and seems to like contact. Finally, he explodes. Often a point guard on a breakaway, especially as a freshman in his first game, will take a layup. Don't take a change missing a dunk, don't make coach angry. Not Appling. He can flat out jump. And it happens fast. So on the break he, without hesitation, goes up two handed and throws down with ease. I like this kid. He brings that swagger and athleticism that MSU often misses out on. If he learns to play in the system but keeps that individuality (ability to improvise, smartly and selectively) he could be a very good player by mid season.

Garrick Sherman is looking good. He's a little too robotic, but is rebounding well and finishing consistently. I worry about the same things I saw from Suton; at half court he decides that he is going to do a drop step, spin, ball fake, hook. It looks as if, "situation be damned, this is the move I decided to use. I may have decided last Wednesday."

Nix looks ok, not great. His weight is down and endurance is up. His free throw shooting is much improved, if not on the stat sheet at least to the eye test.

Austin Thornton will play this year. He looks very confident, very comfortable, and is taking great shots. His defense is solid and his rebounding is off the charts. The latter alone will get him 5-6 minutes per game. Situations (fouls, poor play of others, needing a good free throw shooter, teams playing 4 guards or shooting all 3's) will get him 3-4 more. A hot hand could determine if he gets more than 12 minutes per game.

When Kebler is healthy he will get minutes here and there. I would not be surprised to see him get plenty of play in the tougher games, including guarding (at least for 3-4 minutes) McAmey and E'Twan Moore. He is also confident against teams that pressure.

Lucious will get some minutes, make some big plays, but may be the odd man out this season with Appling being more explosive and Thornton/Kebler being longer defensive options. Against full court pressure teams and when/if Appling starts playing like a freshman, then Lucious may get a chance to play a bigger role.

Ianni will be a non factor. He has size (including a gut) but cannot move his feet well enough to get serious minutes except in an emergency.

Gauna will redshirt. There is just too much depth of size to waste him this year.

Unless Byrd heals fast (like, 2 days ago) he will redshirt, too. I wish that weren't the case because another knockdown 3 point shooter would be great for this team, considering Lucas/Appling/Lucious/Draymond's ability to get by their defenders to kick out.

The team is talented enough to be a 1 seed lock. I don't know that they will be, though. Purdue losing Hummel helps the conference title run. However, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Indiana will all be very difficult wins. Only Iowa is a gimme, and Michigan could rise up and win with hot shooting and some favorable calls. Ohio State has a backloaded schedule and will be the deciding factor, since they play MSU only once (at OSU).

MSU Off Week

They are what I thought they were. This is part "I told you so" and part "ok, so I was wrong about that."

This team is not that good. Not really. The defense especially is problematic. There simply isn't enough depth at corner and safety, and when the D-line had a few injuries, the team really floundered. Northwestern was too close, Iowa wasn't even laughable, and Minny was too close.

The offense is not performing to its ability. I have been vocal, since the first game, about the failings at QB. In fact, the throwing off the back foot issues has been in place all season. It was apparent and frequent as early as ND. Once the defenses got better and the game tapes have revealed the tendencies -- lights out. Iowa had a field day. What does that mean for the rest of the regular season?

Purdue will get plenty of pressure on Cousins. Under pressure (especially on the STUPID play action passes) seems to be when Cousins likes to throw off the back foot and float the ball to the wide side. Even bad DB's can jump that route. A week off could help fix things, but I think Cousins is missing the direction Enos provided (before leaving for CMU).

PSU isn't great in terms of getting pressure on the QB, but the linebackers and db's are better than Purdue. The game is at Happy Valley. It will likely be cold. PSU can run the ball and spread that ball around in space in the passing game. That means, unless the defense forces a few turnovers, Cousins is going to have to make some plays downfield. Screens are going to be limited by the excellent linebackers and the D-line is not over powering but is very disciplined. I like lots of Bell, some 5 wide with Caper, and hopefully some patience from Baker off tackle.

MSU can win both games. MSU should win both games. I do not expect MSU to win both games. In fact, it is a toss up. One would think a win against Purdue and a loss at Happy Valley. I, however, think it is equally likely this team comes out flat after the week off, lets Purdue hang around, and gets caught looking ahead. Then, as things often get strange in the MSU - PSU game, MSU runs wild. Why? Well, Penn State isn't all that good. Jo Pa is not coherent. Motivation is not a problem, considering the PSU thumpings the last two years and the fact that this "land grant" thing comes to a close this year. Finally, MSU needed to get healthy -- mentally and physically -- as much as anything. This bye week was much needed. Before Iowa would have been nice, but alas, you can't always get what you wa-aant.

Make this week:

MSU ---- 27

Purdue - 24