Now is a good time to ask some questions about the men's basketball team ... and have them answered by Spartans Illustrated contributors David Klein and Sam Tyler.
Q1: How far ahead of your preseason projections is this Spartan team and to what do you give the credit?
David Klein
I believed this team could finish in the top 5-7 teams in the conference but did not expect them to be able to compete for a Big Ten title given their lack of a true "1st Team" guy.
The return to the tenets of the program: defend, rebound, run. And the quality of the depth is the reason we're here. Credit the staff for actually going out and making two solid adds in Fidler and Zapala and credit the players for all buying into the sum of the parts being capable of making a strong collective unit.
Sam Tyler
They are definitely a bit ahead of where I thought they would be (I would have guessed they would be a roughly top-30 team). Credit goes to the staff for getting the player combinations correct from the get go and making the few tweaks necessary; it goes to the players for taking major steps forward in their respective games (esp. Kohler, Carr, Fears).
Q2: Did the coaching staff's willingness to play so many varying lineups throughout the season help make this team who it is?
David Klein
What came first the chicken or the egg?
I think the staff's experimentation (sometimes painfully) has led them to have a better understanding of what works and what doesn't, but ultimately to me it's not so much about having played so many diverse lineups as much as it is the versatility of having 10 legitimate playable guys.
There's still times I wish they would ride certain rotations for longer spurts or shift from others but they have been reasonably quick to make adjustments based on the matchups. The staff used the early season play to get a feel for their roster and have shown a pretty good pulse on plugging the right combo of guys at the right times.
The benefit of having shared so much playing time across the roster over the season is they have the luxury of adjusting on the fly and guys aren't coming cold into the spot after having no playing time.
Sam Tyler
I think leaning into the depth has been a HUGE asset. It has taken a lot of pressure off of Akins (as de facto lead scorer) because the team is so fresh and everyone has a chance and license to take shots -- this means that he isn't being relied on for an efficient 20ppg and it has REALLY ensured that the team is running effectively.
Having three point guards, and usually playing with two on the court, guarantees that the offensive pace is there. It also means that guys have an incentive to play as hard as possible -- if you don't, you'll get fewer mins on a given night.
It also means the team is less subject to the whims of referees, which is good ... but it only works if everyone is a viable threat/contributor, which they are.
Q3: What are your top three positive surprises regarding this team?
David Klein
1. Jase Richardson's emergence into a year one ready scoring option.
2. Jaxon Kohler's development into a rebounding machine at the PF spot.
3. The overall development of the underclassmen (Fears and Carr, in particular)
Sam Tyler
1. Free throw shooting (both getting to the line and MAKING THEM). This has been a consistent strength and it guarantees the team does not have super long scoring droughts ... it also mitigates the 3pt shooting struggles (which are approaching 'concerning').
2. The defense - I hoped for, but did not expect, this level of defense. Especially the four guards on the perimeter -- they have been superb and their point of attack defense has ensured that opponents generally have to really work to generate paint touches, which, in turn, ensures that MSU contests shots at a truly elite level.
3. Camaraderie -- Akins clearly had major friction with guys on the team the last couple of seasons, and it is clear that he, Fears, Holloman, and Kohler have decided to bring back the 'maximum unity and critical loyalty' strategy, which is the only way to play winning ball.
Q4: What does this team need to improve upon to reach its ceiling?
David Klein
- Committing themselves defensively EVERY single game.
- Finding a way to hit some timely threes in stretches.
- Fears continuing to be a shot hunter and drink stirrer for the roster.
Sam Tyler
- Clutch/crunch time scoring - doesn't have to be one guy, but they need to find a set of options that work and the pet actions that will generate their best looks.
- Kohler ISO in the post is mediocre, Akins strong drive to the paint is a good option, Fears PnR can be good, but is defendable if the team continues to not be able to shoot from 3 ... that is the biggest key - getting confidence and comfort back.
- The team should have like four ~37% 3pt shooters (Akins, Holloman, Fidler, Richardson) and a couple of others who can shoot it a bit as well ... guys need to sort it out.
- Gotta keep defending, rebounding, and running too --- can't let up there.
Q5: What is the ceiling for this team?
David Klein
TBD. We'll know more after the month of February. Right now they're hovering around a 3-4 seed. If they finish the year in that spot that means they competed for a Big Ten title down the stretch of the regular season. Which they currently control their own destiny to do.
I'd like to see them fight their way to at least a semifinal appearance in the Big Ten Tournament and make a second weekend. I'm still not sure they have all of the ingredients to be a Final Four type team (they would have to catch a few breaks along the way) but this is a really high floor team that is going to make opposing teams battle every night to hang with their depth.
Most encouragingly, it's a return to the foundation of MSU basketball that Izzo built this program on. After a four-year hiatus, the program is recognizable again -- and from a fan perspective it's been really enjoyable to watch and root for.
Sam Tyler
Ceiling: national title (and Big Ten titles). They are one of about eight teams who can win the national title right now.
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