Comments on: Good, Bad and Ugly: Michigan State

By: bedub

bedub — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:09:33 +0000

I just wanted to applaud our guys for never giving up and for playing as hard as they can for the name on the jersey . These kids have grown tremendously and will be outstanding role players in the future . I believe they have learned more than any other team as individuals on and off the court . Crean has done a great job , and this years trials will put one of the grittiest teams on the court next season . Job well done .

By: Sallad

Sallad — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:28:15 +0000

We may play Minnesota, but the middle of the Big Ten is so muddled right now that we'll really have to wait until this weekend shakes out to find out who the 6th seed is–could be Minnesota, could be Michigan, could be Penn State, could be Ohio State. I really feel good about stealing a win in the first round of the tournament.

By: msdiu81

msdiu81 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:23:58 +0000

Personally, I didn't miss Dumes at all during the game. With him turning the ball over and jacking up ill advised 3's or getting into the lane with nowhere to go, we probably wouldn't have been in the game at the end. I vote for Dumes to lose his scholarship to make room for the incoming recruits. Yeah, Dumes can hit a wide open 3 once in awhile, but when we need something, he tries too hard and usually fails. These guys showed they can play without him and add the new guys next year, I wouldn't miss him one bit.

By: aerialM

aerialM — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:47:13 +0000

also, a few games back Crean made a comment about how some of these guys would be redshirting had they gone to a “normal” situation and I was really surprised by that. Then I looked around at some of the potential/possible IU recruits from this year and I started to see what he was saying. Ebanks @ WVU: 9ppg, Negedu @ TN: 2ppg, Holloway @ XU: 5ppg…then I thought about Story being on G'town, he'd redshirt. Or Williams on senior-laden Marquetee, he'd barely play. Or VJ at MN or KY, he'd redshirt. Or Pritch at PSU, he'd play half of what he does now…anyway, made me realize what Crean was saying. Also made me appreciate how far this young team has been pushed beyond reasonable expectations for the types of players they are and what would have been expected of them had the situation not been so…Kelvin-ized.

By: aerialM

aerialM — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:33:48 +0000

missed the game but was thrilled to see the recap & read all about it. lots of heart, seemed like assembly hall was rocking. now let's hope we don't get buried by wisconsin on sunday by 20 and lose all this steam. will we play minnesota in the b-10 tourney? if so, that seems like one of the better possible match-ups for us as far as pulling out an upset. as far as next year's rotation goes, it is going to be a good problem to have…there are whispers hulls might redshirt but that's perplexing to me. (especially if he wins, or comes close to winning, mr. basketball) I think roth might take the redshirt, build up some strength, add an element or two to his game that is missing so when he comes back he's not so one-dimensional. VJ has looked great lately and might not play at the point, but can play the 2 with Creek and Williams…Watford starts (SF), so does Pritch(PF/C) and I think Elston (PF) will too. Rivers will be PG I'd think…and maybe it is just me, and maybe I'm way out of line for thinking this, but is there any chance, ANY, that Dumes isn't back next year? we can all assume Tijan will sadly be gone, but what about Devan? He hasn't exactly been a leader on this year's team and with Rivers coming along next year, we have to wonder how Devan will react to going from the primary scoring option to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th option…

By: Kelin Blab

Kelin Blab — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:56:57 +0000

Pritchard is starting at center…..I see elston at PF

By: Kelin Blab

Kelin Blab — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:54:13 +0000

One of the most interesting things about the whole game was, we played without Dumes. Last year…IU without EJ was a do nothing stand around team…this year there is movement and a lot of solid team play….love it.

By: BFowler

BFowler — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:52:12 +0000

I thought the 3-pointer at the end of the half (I think it was Lucas) would have been a back-breaker for this year's team. They never gave up, the defense was pretty good and the crowd was great. It got ugly especially when they showed a little statistic on TV where both teams were on a 4 and 5 minute drought.

But I like this team, it makes me wonder next year who is going to be out of the rotation in 2009-10.....I think VJ III has looked like the best player on the floor here recently. He has shown the ability to find open players and I think once he gets stronger, his turnovers will decrease. Nick Williams plays tough, Story provides instant offense off the bench, Pritchard is a big, strong inside presence, and Dumes and Roth are very good shooters. So with the new class coming in, who's out? Most people are saying that Rivers and Hulls will get a lot of minutes at point, but how do you take Jones out of the rotation with the way he has been playing? Most are saying Creek and Dumes at the 2, but where or when does Roth get time? A lot of people are saying a no-brainer with Watford at the 3, but in the rotation, is it Story or Williams and who is out? Inside the rotation will be Elston, Pritchard, Capobianco and maybe Miniru with Watford able to be a front-liner as well.

So, we must assume that the roation would not exceed 10, with probably no more than 9 normally. So, who is out?

PG: Rivers, Jones, Hulls
SG: Dumes, Creek, Roth
SF/Wing: Watford, Williams, Story
PF: Elston, Capo, Pritchard
C: Miniru

That's 13 (12 if you don't want to count Miniru) and with the improvement of Jobe....

By: bz

bz — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:07:13 +0000

perfectly stated ryan. my thoughts exactly.

By: tberry

tberry — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:05:14 +0000

"I’m not sure why I thought different tonight."

You though different because yo can see the improvement and you know Coach Crean can and will get us back.

That is the major difference between IU Basketball, as bad as it may be this year, and how IU Football is every year, no matter how much hope fans have in them.