After what seemed a painstakingly slow start to the portal season, the Michigan State Spartans have FINALLY kicked off the cycle, landing a commitment from Frankie Fidler, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound Nebraska Omaha wing. Filling a significant position of need, the Spartans have undoubtedly gotten better, but how much of an impact Fidler can make in his lone season in East Lansing will be up for debate all summer.

Fidler won just 29 games across three seasons for the Mavericks, playing with mostly horrendous, talent-deficient lineups.

It happens.

Dalton Knecht, in his final season at Northern Colorado, went just 12-20 and 6-12 in conference play before heading to Tennessee. Marcus Domask and Lance Jones played together at Southern Illinois for four straight seasons finishing 5th, 9th, 6th, and 3rd in the Missouri Valley Conference, never once making the NCAA Tournament.

There are talented guys on low- and mid-major conference teams across the country and team records don’t necessarily dictate potential impact at the next level. System fit and role allocation are crucial to getting it right.

For as many successes as we saw last year (the aforementioned names, Mark Sears going from Ohio to Alabama, etc) there are just as many failures (Nicolas Timberlake we’re looking at you buddy, sorry).

So let’s dive into Fidler’s game and his potential role and fit with the Spartans.