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MSU Green-White Basketball Scrimmage Recap

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Yay, basketball!  A sport that doesn't make us think about sharp objects!

 

The lineup format for the scrimmage was first team (Green) vs. second team (White).  The starting lineup for the Green team--and, therefore, the presumed opening game lineup at this point--was Lucas/Allen/Morgan/Roe/Herzog.  In the second half, though, Summers took Allen's spot and Green took Roe's, indicating that Izzo is basically thinking of seven players as starter quality.

These things always end up being offensive showcases (although the defensive intensity was a notch up from the Midnight Madness scrimmage a week ago).  Hence 149 points scored in a 40-minute game involving quite a few players who don't normally score much outside of layup lines.  It doesn't look like MSU is going to post a full box score, which is fine since the stats won't tell us much anyway.  Chris Allen (22), Kalin Lucas (19), and Isaiah Dahlman (18) were your leading scorers; more on them below.

One stat we do have that's encouraging is the 44.8% combined 3-point shooting percentage put up between the two teams.  With Allen, Lucious, and Summers sucking up Travis Walton's minutes this year, the team will likely take substantially more shots from beyond the arc.  Knocking down 3-point looks consistently will, therefore, be a bigger key to success this season.

Star-divide

Defensively, there wasn't much to write home about.  At halftime, Tom Izzo took questions from the crowd.  One of the questions was something like, "Who's your best defensive player right now?"  To which Izzo replied, "We don't have one yet."  Truth be told, I think the answer is going to be Delvon Roe.  Now that he's close to 100% healthwise, he showed a knack for jumping into passing lanes and making steals.  Combine that with his defensive rebounding prowess and the surprisingly good blocked-shot rate he put up last season, and he could well contend for a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

Also of note: The team did play some 2-3 zone in the second half, so maybe Izzo is serious is about using it more this year in order to mask the inexperience among the post defenders.

Player-by-player impressions:

  • Kalin Lucas: As quick as ever.  3-point release looks a little more fluid.
  • Korie Lucious: I was surprised when he took the court to participate in the scrimmage, given that he's been cleared to practice for less than two weeks.  But, after that initial surprise, I didn't think about his foot injury again, as he looked completely natural running the point for the White team.  Very good news.
  • Chris Allen: Looked very confident shooting the ball and making moves going toward the basket.  None of the hesitation that plagued him for a long stretch of last season.  Can he maintain that over 30+ games?
  • Durrell Summers: Man, can he jump.  At one point, someone threw a high pass to him in the corner of the court we were sitting adjacent to (in the lower student section).  It looked like he was taking off to fly when he went up for the ball, which he retrieved.
  • Raymar Morgan: I'm not sure his game is really suited to these sorts of scrimmages, which is fine.  Jumpshot looks improved, although still a bit line-drivish.  Took and made at least one 3-pointer without hesitating.
  • Draymond Green: Has slimmed down even more.  Took the ball to the hoop without fear, with mixed results.  A couple fabulous interior no-look passes.  Took a rare preseason-intrasquad-scrimmage charge.  Ran the fast break after grabbing a defensive rebound several times.  A commenter mentioned him as a point guard possibility if Lucious were to miss any time; I don't think that's out of the realm of possibilities.  With the graduation of Goran Suton (who was at the scrimmage), Green is now officially my favorite Spartan.
  • Delvon Roe: See above regarding his defense.  Free throw shooting was fine; no problems on those front-enders.  Looks to have improved his mid-range shooting ability, as well.
  • Tom Herzog: Much more assertive on both ends of court, with a couple strong dunks off passes.  Still a few awkward moments, though.  Noticed in pregame warm-ups he's got really nice touch on his 15-foot jumpshot; soft release with nice rotation on the ball.
  • Derrick Nix: Even with the weight he's lost, he's still a load.  "Laboring" is the word that comes to mind watching him get up and down the court.  But when he gets the ball near the basket, he can't be stopped.
  • Garrick Sherman: Looked, dare I say it, somewhat Sutonesque.  Good nose for finding the ball on the boards; knack for finding ways to score or get fouled down low.  Seemed to fade a bit as the scrimmage went on, though.  Also, not quite as big as I was thinking he was.
  • Isaiah Dahlman: Even before he scored his points, I thought his outside shot looked improved; quicker release, good rotation on the ball.  Looking to take a leadership role as a senior, directing teammates throughout the game.  Could he contribute a few big shots/plays in his final season as a Spartan?
  • Austin Thornton: Didn't have much impact on the game.  Not buying the he's-a-power-forward-now idea.  Best shot at regular PT is as a Tim-Bograkos-like defensive spark plug.  Might be room for one of those with Walton gone.
  • Mike Kebler: He can dunk!  In warm-ups, at least.  Might be more athletic than I had realized and a real option to play a few minutes at PG in a pinch.
  • Jon Crandell and Anthony Ianni: Thank you for your willingness to play hard in practice, gentlemen.

Overall, the positive takeaway is that Herzog and the two freshmen showed quite a bit of poise and the ability to make varying contributions.  My guess is that their respective shares of the playing time down low will fluctuate over the course of the season, depending on match-ups, as none of them look to have the complete package at this point.  Herzog against teams with real low-post scoring threats.  Sherman against smaller opponents.  Nix in short stretches of 2-3 minutes to wear opposing big men down.  None of the three when Izzo decides to unleash what will quite possibly be the fastest, most-athletic 1-through-5 lineup in the country with Green/Roe at the 4/5 spots.

Finally, a few amateur photos with super witty captions for your enjoyment:

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Korie Lucious trying to bring back the Steve Urkel look.

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Raymar Morgan's jumpshot: Now with bonus range!

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Sherman thinking, "Let's impress those TOC guys with a stand-out Free Throw Rate today."

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"It's just a scrimmage.  Don't hurt anyone."

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Best basketball player tattoo ever?

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Remember this guy?

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I'm open!  And I can shoot now!

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50 pounds later, still plenty of weight to throw around.

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Nameless guard goes strong to the hoop.

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Oops.  Wrong photo album.  Stay away from sharp objects.

0 recs  |  Comment 12 comments |

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I heard Suton was in Shermans ear the whole night talking and teaching.

"There are no next times when you're competing for big things." - Tom Izzo
Go Spartans

by msufan23 on Oct 25, 2009 8:44 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

I don't think that was the case.

Suton was sitting on the bench with the Green team. Sherman played for the White team. (Unless Suton moved when I wasn’t paying attention.)

Hopefully, there was some good back-stage conversation between the two, though.

Fight for The Only Colors: Green and White!

by KJ@theonlycolors on Oct 25, 2009 8:51 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Delvon's Tattoo...

is indeed the best ever.

by rook34 on Oct 25, 2009 8:55 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Thanks KJ!

Nice to hear how everyone looked for those who can’t come to events. I’m very excited about this year’s team.
Being an Ohio grad student, I only make to one game a year over Christmas break and am really looking forward to it.

Oh, and hey, two words: Adreian Payne?

by intrpdtrvlr on Oct 25, 2009 9:57 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Random thought

How many D-I conferences would yesterday’s White team win? My guess would be about half to two thirds of them. They could probably even win a game or two in the tournament.

by Uncle Omar on Oct 25, 2009 10:17 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Best thing for me

was how Lucious played. Like KJ said, he looked like the injury never happened. That, and Garrick Sherman. I didn’t anticipate him being much of a factor this year, but it looks like he really might contribute.

"Do not cheat your team or your teammates. Know your plays. Block. Protect. Add to what we are trying to do."
The Only Colors

by LVS on Oct 25, 2009 10:44 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Encouraging

Very encouraging recap…

3-pt shooting, Roe’s charity stripe shot, and KL2 return from injury sound promising.

“the fastest, most-athletic 1-through-5 lineup 5 in the country with Green/Roe at the 4/5 spots” … Basketball season cannot start soon enough.

by TMadison25 on Oct 26, 2009 7:44 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Amen, brother

Also, typo fixed.

Fight for The Only Colors: Green and White!

by KJ@theonlycolors on Oct 26, 2009 7:46 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Thanks for the Recap

Nice to hear Lucious didn’t look like he was hampered at all from his injury. The kid has as much pure physical talent as anyone on our team.

I hope this is the year Allen becomes a consistent 3 point threat…he’s always been a good shooter, he just hasn’t been able to translate it to game action. In Lucious, Allen, Lucas and Summers all 4 guys have the ability to shoot 35%+ from behind the arc.

I’m really excited to see how much Roe and Green have developed. I think we’ll finish a lot of our games with those two at the 4/5 because although it would be a smaller front court, they are the two best basketball players we can put there. Izzo may be worried about rebounding, but we’d have two excellent rebounders with size at our wings in Summers and Morgan.

by Stones1981 on Oct 26, 2009 8:50 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Nix & Sherman

I had read that they did very well in the high school all star camps and it appears to be no exaggeration.

by MSU1978 on Oct 26, 2009 11:06 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

We probably will go "small" a lot

Morgan is somewhat oversized for a college small forward, so with him, Green, and Roe in there we aren’t that undersized, and they are clearly the most talented front court players we have now assuming Sherman and Nix are going to take some time to learn the system and adjust to the college game. I worry not so much about rebounding – I think Green is a superior rebounder to Herzog despite the height advantabe Herzog has – but about defense with the small lineup.

We’ll be stellar on the boards with Green, Morgan and Roe in there together, but Green is not tall enough to bother an opposing power forward’s shot, and Roe might give up a couple inches to an opposing center. If we can switch Green onto the opposing team’s small forward and have Morgan match up against their power forward on D, that would help mitigate the problem, but having Herzog in there really makes us long on D. The question is can he move his feet and stay in position? If not then our most athletic lineup may also be our best defensive lineup, in which case we will see a lot of it.

by TheCrestedHelm on Oct 28, 2009 8:52 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

With You on Green

Not only does Green have a great last name for a Spartan, but he seems to have the right balance of headiness and heart. I believe he will do a lot of little things this year to fill in for the traits Walton and Suton brought to the team, and I anticipate him doing several big things as well. He strikesme as a player who gets it, plays within his abilities, and is truly ready to blossom.

Thanks for the detailed update.

by donaldo on Oct 29, 2009 12:49 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

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