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.

It’s never too early to start pontificating about the upcoming season.

My crystal ball I dust off every July or August is acting abnormally insane, as, for the very first time, the Northwestern Wildcats have scratched their way to the front of my lopsided prediction formation… via the crystal ball.

I need to listen to the ball.

You can’t not listen to the ball.

It’s like the Tommyknockers.

Apparently Kevin Coble and his band of international scholars, not so much ballers, are going to be getting some help of the vertically gifted variety this next season. Four 6’8 or taller players are included in this year’s class.

Last year, not even one player on the squad was taller than 6’8, leaving star Kevin Coble, more of perimeter oriented player, to be the only real Wildcat threat on the boards.

The Bill Carmody led team should be able to crack the top 7 in the Big Ten this season provided Coble plays the entire year and the bulk of the rotation improves.

Could a postseason appearance be in the cards for the first time since Carmody has been in Evanston?

Hell yes, surely now that there’s a 3rd postseason tournament.

No excuses!

So ten teams, players or college basketball ingredients are to be predicted upon by me

After the tenth and final prediction, you can categorize me as either a

A) moron
B) racist (races)
C) Dwight Howard cornbread non-apologist
D) genius
E) homer
F) D and E

Prediction # 1

1) The Michigan State Spartans will once again let down their exceptionally loyal and passionate fan base with a less than impressive run in the NCAA tourney. This means they will not advance past the Sweet 16. Underachieve has become a common word thrown around in East Lansing lately and it makes you wonder whether Izzo can get it done anymore.

Izzo is a fabulous recruiter, but he doesn’t seem to be able to mesh his roster together at the right time.

This year’s team, no different from most Izzo teams, has a wealth of depth and athleticism. The team can play small and fast, or also big and long, provided prized recruit Delvon Roe is in good enough shape to hold his own and whether or not Marquise Gray or Tom Herzog can show consistency.

Don’t count on it.

I cannot easily forget the team that lost to George Mason in round 1 three years ago. Shannon Brown, Maurice Ager and Paul Davis wore the Spartan green that year. To go out that way left a bad taste in a lot of fan’s mouths.

While I lean towards the Michigan Wolverines side for rooting purposes in-state, I still like to see the Spartans succeed.

Oh well, I just remembered being very shocked and let down by that loss. I probably had them going to the Elite 8 or something, like I do every year.

Damn.

$10 would be helpful right about now.

Punctual predictions 2-10 coming up in later posts.

Also I’ll explain the Northwestern Wildcat squad and why they got a mention on this blog.

Actually I’ll have to refer back to the crystal meth, I mean ball about that.

(50-20 at the half)

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