Seth David (CNN-SI) recently made a visit to the land of Sparty to take a first hand look at the Spartan basketball team of 2007-2008. His remarks about the team & his outlook for this upcoming season were right on target in my opinion. All of us Spartan fans, & much of the nation’s college basketball fans know about Tom Izzo’s coaching techniques & philosophy during his tenure. Some of these philosophies include running, rebounding, leadership, & hard work….all of which this year’s team will incorporate. The Spartans are primed for a run to the NCAA championship this year behind some veteran leadership, new faces, & another year of great coaching by Tom Izzo and his staff.
Preview
Starting Lineup
Preview
Starting Lineup
Travis Walton -PG
Drew Neitzel - SG
Raymar Morgan - SF
Marquise Gray - PF
Goran Suton - C/PF
Raymar Morgan - SF
Marquise Gray - PF
Goran Suton - C/PF
Projected Back-Ups
Kalin Lucas - PG
Chris Allen - SG
Durrell Summers - SG/SF
Isiah Dahlman - SF
Drew Naymick - PF/C
Tom Herzog - C
Idong Ibok - C
When you look at the roster & potential line-up, there are a lot of areas that players can be interchangeable. This will be a huge strength for this team this year & will allow the team to go back to running the floor like the great Spartan teams of the past. The biggest question mark is that of the players in the low post. This could be the Achilles heal of the team this year. A lot of their success is going to depend on how Marquise Gray performs along with Goran Suton. Both players have showed signs of brilliance in the past, but on an inconsistent basis.
Big Ten - My PredictionWhen you look at the roster & potential line-up, there are a lot of areas that players can be interchangeable. This will be a huge strength for this team this year & will allow the team to go back to running the floor like the great Spartan teams of the past. The biggest question mark is that of the players in the low post. This could be the Achilles heal of the team this year. A lot of their success is going to depend on how Marquise Gray performs along with Goran Suton. Both players have showed signs of brilliance in the past, but on an inconsistent basis.
I believe this team will take the Big Ten fairly easily. The only team that will give them some problems is Indiana. MSU doesn’t match up well in the low post with Indiana considering the presence of DJ White. That being said, I still believe if MSU can get consistent scoring out of the 1, 2, & 3 positions….they should be OK.
As for the NCAA tournament, I believe this team has a shot at winning a championship this year. There aren’t many other teams nationally that can match up with MSU in depth. Going late into the season, this will be the Spartans biggest strength.
Overall (Biased Prediction Being an MSU Alum): The only place I don't agree with Mr. Davis......MSU will bring another championship trophy back to East Lansing this year!
1 comment:
I (not very happily I might add) agree with you on the fact that State is loaded this year. I went to the Green and White scrimmage for work and they looked pretty good.
You forgot to mention that if they are really good they will get basically a home regional since the Midwest Regionals are at Ford Field this year. Big advantage.
Good stuff!
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