The Spartans are again wickedly athletic, versatile, deep and, yep, a likely good tease as well.

Losing Drew Neitzel won’t be as catastrophic for the Spartans as it would be for quite a few other quality teams in the country. Izzo had some depth to work with last year and that allowed fellow guard Kalin Lucas, now a sophomore, to really gain a wealth of experience. As one of the fastest players in the country, Kalin often does not need anyone to accompany him on a fast break. He’s an up tempo player of the A grade variety. He can also shoot a little too (36% 3pt). Crafty defensive veteran Travis Walton also returns, as does sharp shooter Chris Allen and athletic do it all wing Durrell Summers. All of those guys finish in transition and bring intangibles to the table that every really good team must have.

Wing/forward Raymar Morgan is the most polished player on the team. He will certainly be asked to add to his 14ppg total of last year. If he can be a legitimate threat from downtown (just 33 attempts last season), there’s not much Raymar can’t do on offense. He’s solid. He needs to be more spectacular.

The obvious strength of the Spartans is the backcourt and wing position. It might be under the radar, but it’s budding for sure.

But what about the front court?

Don’t count on Tom Herzog or Idong Ibok to sufficiently replace departed senior Drew Naymick. Let’s not over blow Drew’s importance. Firstly, it took the once offensively challenged Naymick about 7 years to contribute and while it’s important to give credit where credit is due (Drew came a long way in that time and really played like a competent Big Ten big man his last two seasons), the Spartans will miss his defensive presence, but not much else. They can do better. But the question remains, can Gray, Ibok, and Herzog actually do it?

The upside on Herzog seems high still, but similar expectations were put on Marquise Gray, a 5 star recruit four years ago.

Gray has been a bust to say the least.

Gray has all the athletic attributes a player needs, but he doesn’t seem to yet be able to grasp Izzo’s concepts. He’ll have his shining moments for sure, although Izzo will likely remember the head scratching-hair pulling moments he’s endured because of Gray the most.

Izzo only a minute away from taking large, thick chunks of hair out his skull while pleading with Marquise Gray on why he fouled the other team 60 feet from the hoop

Herzog, if he has gained any more weight, should be good for more than 13 games at 5 minutes a pop. He has the reputation of being somewhat competent on the block, whereas Gray and Ibok do not, but Herzog does not possess the strength to stay on the block at this level yet. It’s apparent, just look at the numbers, Ibok played in 13 more games and gives you nothing on offense. The future sure looks shaky for Herzog.

Video from a couple of years ago-

As far as Ibok is concerned, heck, he’s on the books for just one more year. Ibok has shown an inconsistent work ethic and furthermore has instilled little to no confidence into Izzo. Ibok is not what you call a basketball player yet. He’s a project still in the developmental stage. But better yet, he already has his degree, so, he has something a lot of college basketball players will never obtain.

It’s imperative for the bench bigs to overachieve, if you will, since it’s a foregone conclusion that Goran Suton will look like Bill Walton one play and then an immobile Christian Laettner the next six.

Put Suton down for 10 and 8 and be done with it. Throw it aside. He is what he is. Serviceable.

Delvon Roe, while a stud in my view, may come along slower than expected because of his injury difficulties. But soon enough he should be starting along with Morgan and Suton up front. Those 3 complement each other very nicely. You got some flash and sizzle in there, some inside-outside flavor and some quality post action to count on as well.

Overall the team, on a national level, mind you, might not be considered top 5 caliber, but I see them as a formidable top 5 team. The pieces are in place to become elite, but when push comes to shove, the impressing play they will exude in the regular season will come to a sudden halt somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd round of the tourney.

Unless freshman Draymond Green or junior Isaiah Dahlman, two, as of now, unlikely rotational players, have something in store to add to this team, like something significant, then the Spartans will be about one impact player short of a final four caliber team.

Thinking back a little, I’m tempted to proclaim that this might be the year the Spartans get back to that elite level. It would be the perfect year to do so.

Actually, kidding aside, it would be perfect this year.

The Final Four is in Michigan– Ford Field.

Think the Spartans wouldn’t be the favorites?

Ha.

I’d take em.

Why would anyone not want to see their name shown on the big draft board on draft night?

Well, undrafted players will be able to pick and chose the most ideal situation. They get to decide which team they go to. Drafted players don’t get to decide.

Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel

Drew played both point and shooting guard during his career at MSU. He’s a small guy, only about 6’, not very athletic, but very basketball savvy. Can shoot it as well as anybody in the draft –off the dribble as well– plus he can handle the point sufficiently. If he goes undrafted, he can choose to latch onto a team that might need some guard help. I see Drew as an eventual NBA player, but just not this year. My prediction, undrafted.

Duquesne’s Shawn James

Shawn James was one of the best shot blockers in college last year. He’s about 6’10, probably more like 6’9. He very well could be drafted, but I wouldn’t put money on it. I see Shawn turning into a Justin Williams type of player in the league. I feel a little more confident in predicting that James will be on a NBA roster come the start of next season (without getting drafted) than I do about Neitzel. James will have to show teams that he can continue to add strength (225lbs) to his frame. My prediction, Drafted in 2nd round.

IUPUI’s George Hill
Guy is an undersized two guard who is best fitted to play point in the NBA. He did play the point at IUPUI, but I see him having more of a two guard mentality. I really thought he would return to school and improve his point guard skills, but he obviously thinks he has a chance to be drafted. And he very well could, especially considering he played well at the Orlando Pre-Draft camp last month. His decision to come out early could be damaging to his future hopes of playing in the league, as James’ decision could be too. My prediction, undrafted.

For some solid NBA Finals coverage and reaction on b5media, head on over to GirlsDigSports, NBA Obsessed, and Hoops Fantasy.

If you like studying the NFL combine numbers and all, you’ll get a kick out of the NBA Pre-Draft numbers gathered in Orlando last week.

Thanks to rushthecourt.wordpress.com for bringing these numbers to my attention. And much thanks to draftexpress.com for their up close and personal work from Orlando last week.

You can see all of the numbers aka player heights, wingspans, body fats, verticals, etc here

Now on to some musings that may or may not completely correlate to the numbers

The no shoes height number is interesting to look at and all, but basically I wouldn’t worry about whether a guy is only 6’7.5 without shoes, because he’ll likely be 6’9 in shoes and after all, NBA basketball players do wear shoes when in competition. And even if the NBA adopted a no shoe policy, the difference would still be essentially the same.

I think many analysts, and even fans especially, just look at the no shoes (and to an extent, in shoes) stat to further rip on and prove why so and so will not make it in the league. Petty. Sometimes a guy can just flat out play and an inch here or there in height means nothing.

Brook Lopez, now this is a legit 7 footer with some athleticism (30.5 vertical) to go along with his nice frame. I’d bet a lot of coin that Jason and Jarron didn’t have half the athleticism Brook and Robin have. Something tells me both Lopez’s will have better statistical rookie campaigns than any of the campaigns Jason and Jarron have put up in the league. And by looking at the numbers, it shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off, well, at least for Brook anyway.

This Othello Hunter guy will probably prove me to be a chump after it’s all said and done. Othello has a 7’3’’ wingspan, and a 34.5 vertical leap while being 6’7.5’’. Now all he needs to do to become Ben Wallace is to just work on his strength (just 7 reps of 185 lbs, Ben can do about 150 reps of 185 lbs). Although I’m sure Othello would like to pass on the “undrafted” part of Big Ben’s resume.

Staying on the Big Ten front here, I’m mildly shocked at the wingspan of Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel. When you’re just a hair under 6’1 and don’t possess a ton of athleticism, it would be nice to have at least some long arms or something. But Drew, unfortunately, only has a 6’2.5” wingspan. Compare that to 6’2.25’’ DeMarcus Nelson’s 6’10 wingspan and you’ll understand where I’m coming from. But Drew Neitzel indeed had a good showing at the camp and as far as I’m concerned will eventually make a roster because of his ability to handle the ball like a point guard and shoot like a 2 guard. And the fact that Chris Quinn and Travis Deiner are still in the league bodes well for Neitzel too.

The recently updated/renovated Spartans Weblog will surely keep you up to date on the goings on of Neitzel and not to mention the 08/09 season outlook for the Michigan St. Spartans as well, a team that should produce at least 3 or 4 more NBA caliber players in the near future.

Any comments, questions and beefs are always appreciated.

The highly anticipated AP pre-season All-American team has been announced, and its members shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone:

PF Tyler Hansbrough - North Carolina
C Roy Hibbert - Georgetown
G Chris Lofton - Tennessee
G Drew Neitzel - Michigan State
G Darren Collison - UCLA

What blows my mind is that Hansbrough was not a unanimous selection to the team - one AP voter didn’t vote for him on the 1st team. Whoever that voter is should have his AP credentials and voting privileges revoked immediately. Hansbrough will be the Player of the Year, in my opinion, and very well could lead North Carolina to the championship this season.