Champions Classic

[johnny2x2x]

29-12-12 for Denzel.

Gutsy win and I think we found our starting 5:
Costello, Davis, DV, McQuaid, Forbes.

 

[LuciousGameWinner]

Did Valentine play every minute?

 

[johnny2x2x]

Did Valentine play every minute?

He sat a few minutes in the first half. Looked exhausted right before he went on that run.

 

[Spartan23MSU]

Tragic Johnson, not tonight. He was NBA good tonight. #4 kansas going down to MSU. Were staking claim early in the hoops season. I know, I know Im not supposed to talk about how MSU is the best program in both the 2 MAJOR SPORTS (michamp). Hard to find that. I hear how good the SEC is in football and how good the ACC is in hoops but MSU is consistently one of the best in both major sports (FUCK THE HATERS). While its tough for some to deal with , I soak it up.

 

[Sbee]

Big win for the resume, it's really early and the game didn't really matter but big for confidence. Hopefully we can get some players back when we play Arizona.

 

[johnny2x2x]

Big win for the resume, it's really early and the game didn't really matter but big for confidence. Hopefully we can get some players back when we play Arizona.

We don't play Zona do we? Or are we in a tourney they are also in so its not in the schedule. I know we place BC in a few games then Louisville, two tough opponents. We also play Florida.

You can see the new players trying to figure it out, further along than u thought they would be though. This team can be scary good in a few months.

 

[Sbee]

We don't play Zona do we? Or are we in a tourney they are also in so its not in the schedule. I know we place BC in a few games then Louisville, two tough opponents. We also play Florida.

You can see the new players trying to figure it out, further along than u thought they would be though. This team can be scary good in a few months.

http://espnevents.com/wooden-legacy/bracketdtvbracket-et-pt/

wooden legacy, we just have to beat BC, then the winner of Boise State vs UC Irvine.

 

[MSUMatt28]

We don't play Zona do we? Or are we in a tourney they are also in so its not in the schedule. I know we place BC in a few games then Louisville, two tough opponents. We also play Florida.

You can see the new players trying to figure it out, further along than u thought they would be though. This team can be scary good in a few months.

Every team will be better in a few months than now. I might reserve the term "scary" for what I saw in the Duke-Kentucky game. Lots of raw talent in that game.

 

[johnny2x2x]

Every team will be better in a few months than now. I might reserve the term "scary" for what I saw in the Duke-Kentucky game. Lots of raw talent in that game.

Really? I thought that game was garbage. Duke looked like crap and Kentucky looked long and athletic, but nowhere near as talented as they've been in recent years. The consensus I have read is that the 2nd game looked like it was between the 2 best teams.

Not going to over blow this win, it was a nice win, but I also think our depth is what wore them down. We played 12 players and at the end we were fresher and got every loose ball because of it. But I also think you saw glimpses of how this team will play in March. I also think the combo of Costello and Davis in the front court gave Kansas fits, a lot of length and shot blocking ability, Davis forced Ellis into some bad shots.

Oh, and we did this without 2 of our top 6 players in Clark and Schilling.

It's exciting because you see the potential. McQuiad, Harris, Davis, and Bess all looked raw, but looked like they're pretty close to being very good already. I'm sure we'll take a few head scratching losses along the way that Izzo will use to teach the team, but this team's ceiling is higher than I thought. I thought maybe they could go on a run this Spring if Izzo worked his magic and make another Final 4, but have no chance to win it all. This team can win it all, still a long shot to do so, but they definitely can.

 

[Sbee]

Pretty disappointed in Harris, he was awful in every phase of the game, he looked like the worst player on the court. I think he'll snap out of it and start hitting shots, defending, etc but he looks just terrible right now.

 

[johnny2x2x]

Pretty disappointed in Harris, he was awful in every phase of the game, he looked like the worst player on the court. I think he'll snap out of it and start hitting shots, defending, etc but he looks just terrible right now.

He looked bad, but he also showed that ability to get to the rim that we need. He's going to be an important part of the team this season.

 

[Spartanmack]

Hopefully it's just rust from missing out on a year of game experience and not an issue of his game or him personally not being the right fit. Time will tell.

 

[Spartan23MSU]

Pretty disappointed in Harris, he was awful in every phase of the game, he looked like the worst player on the court. I think he'll snap out of it and start hitting shots, defending, etc but he looks just terrible right now.

crazy to hear people say he might be NBA ready. He indeed looked awful and lost:ugh:

 

[Spartan23MSU]

Kansas had 30 FT attempts and we had 16. Not even the refs could stop this one

 

[MSUMatt28]

I agree that Harris didn't look good at all. It was the first time I had really seen him and I found myself wondering how the heck he put up 17 per game in the Big 12 previously. He does seem to have some scoring inclinations, but looks like he will blow hot and cold (and right now only cold). He also seems to need the ball to be effective and otherwise does a lot of standing around. If he's not careful McQuaid is going to take all his minutes.

All that said, one weakness on this team is anyone at all who can create their own shot. We saw that last night where Costello was in foul trouble so they couldn't go to him in the post as much as they wanted, they limited Forbes's looks (though he took good advantage of the ones he got), and basically Denzel had to try and do everything. So if Harris can get it together he can still add something there.

 

[MSUMatt28]

Really? I thought that game was garbage. Duke looked like crap and Kentucky looked long and athletic, but nowhere near as talented as they've been in recent years. The consensus I have read is that the 2nd game looked like it was between the 2 best teams.

Not going to over blow this win, it was a nice win, but I also think our depth is what wore them down. We played 12 players and at the end we were fresher and got every loose ball because of it. But I also think you saw glimpses of how this team will play in March. I also think the combo of Costello and Davis in the front court gave Kansas fits, a lot of length and shot blocking ability, Davis forced Ellis into some bad shots.

Oh, and we did this without 2 of our top 6 players in Clark and Schilling.

It's exciting because you see the potential. McQuiad, Harris, Davis, and Bess all looked raw, but looked like they're pretty close to being very good already. I'm sure we'll take a few head scratching losses along the way that Izzo will use to teach the team, but this team's ceiling is higher than I thought. I thought maybe they could go on a run this Spring if Izzo worked his magic and make another Final 4, but have no chance to win it all. This team can win it all, still a long shot to do so, but they definitely can.

My point wasn't really that Duke/Kentucky looked "better", just rawer, and would probably grow more throughout the season. Though UK looked pretty good yesterday and Labisiere didn't give them much. Same goes for Duke and the play of Ingram. Our young guys will get better too, but their young guys are more talented.

None of which is take away from the win and the fact that it looks to me like we'll be a contender in the Big Ten and hope for another deep March run (along with a bunch of other teams).

 

[Sbee]

Kansas had 30 FT attempts and we had 16. Not even the refs could stop this one

we overcame a lot in this game, a big foul differential and two key injuries. I do think we foul more than other teams and that kills us if it's called tightly. you see more enforcement in these early season games too, just to make a point of emphasis on these new rules. We are aggressive in our man to man defense and we'll pick up more fouls than most teams we play but we also make up for it with holding teams to a lower shooting percentage and out rebounding them. It's crazy that we had a 10 rebound differential missing Clark and Schilling.

There are a lot of reasons you can point to for this win but free throw shooting was huge. We had the right people on the line last night

 

[gotime909]

we overcame a lot in this game, a big foul differential and two key injuries. I do think we foul more than other teams and that kills us if it's called tightly. you see more enforcement in these early season games too, just to make a point of emphasis on these new rules. We are aggressive in our man to man defense and we'll pick up more fouls than most teams we play but we also make up for it with holding teams to a lower shooting percentage and out rebounding them. It's crazy that we had a 10 rebound differential missing Clark and Schilling.

There are a lot of reasons you can point to for this win but free throw shooting was huge. We had the right people on the line last night

Hard to imagine either of them doing better than the 6 boards in 13 minutes rate that Wollenman put up. That was big

 

[Spartan23MSU]

we overcame a lot in this game, a big foul differential and two key injuries. I do think we foul more than other teams and that kills us if it's called tightly. you see more enforcement in these early season games too, just to make a point of emphasis on these new rules. We are aggressive in our man to man defense and we'll pick up more fouls than most teams we play but we also make up for it with holding teams to a lower shooting percentage and out rebounding them. It's crazy that we had a 10 rebound differential missing Clark and Schilling.

There are a lot of reasons you can point to for this win but free throw shooting was huge. We had the right people on the line last night

A real treat from last year when we were really struggling at the line. I agree we (and the big 10) probably play a bit tighter but usually these stagnant foul laden games dont turn out well for us. When we were down 13 I felt we would scrape to within 2-3 points and lose by 8. We cant expect Valentine to perform like that all season so we need a few other threats. Im really satisifed that we pulled this game out. I was at Kincades (kansas bar) with a Kansas Alum which made it even better. Any idea when Schilling and Clark will return?

 

[Sbee]

A real treat from last year when we were really struggling at the line. I agree we (and the big 10) probably play a bit tighter but usually these stagnant foul laden games dont turn out well for us. When we were down 13 I felt we would scrape to within 2-3 points and lose by 8. We cant expect Valentine to perform like that all season so we need a few other threats. Im really satisifed that we pulled this game out. I was at Kincades (kansas bar) with a Kansas Alum which made it even better. Any idea when Schilling and Clark will return?

Kincade is always packed for Ku games, good menu too. Clark should start practicing soon, he's been shooting a little. Schilling is day to day or as izzo called it 3 days to 3 days, they said that the swelling has gone down but no word on when he can actually start to practice