3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball as practice begins

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1. This is an MSU roster unlike any we’ll see anymore in college basketball

It’s almost as if Michigan State’s men’s basketball program is existing in a time warp — having avoided the pitfalls of the transfer portal, its roster loaded with veterans and blue-chippers as if this was 20 years ago or at least pre-pandemic.

You won’t find rosters very often like this anymore in college basketball — with eight scholarship returners, including your top four guards, having lost only one rotation player (and not even to the transfer portal), and with an incoming class that rivals the best the program has ever seen.

Izzo will tell you it’s a combination of being loyal to his guys and not recruiting over them, coupled with recruiting kids who are highly touted but more importantly fit the program. That’s what’s allowed this to occur.

“In this BS transactional world we’re in, we still have a relationship-based program,” Izzo said.

He’s threaded needle in building this roster.

You can sense the anticipation for this season — for not only wondering how good this team can be and also how it’ll all come together, with freshmen Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Xavier Booker and Gehrig Normand joining the fray in what’s going to be a fight for minutes.

You could feel the competitive energy at MSU’s first in-season practice Monday.

Izzo said there’s a sweat equity to this group in that he’s got players that have been through it, that have failed and been allowed to fail. They’ve been close to a Final Four run (last year) and lost in overtime in an NCAA tournament play-in game (two years ago), only to see the team that beat them make a Final Four themselves.

Those older guys have been good about showing the freshmen the way, Izzo said, and the freshmen “have shown some respect for the upperclassman.”

It’s going to be an interesting mix. It could be ideal, even if not everyone is always happy. Minutes, Izzo said, will have to be earned.

The competition the next…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/couch-3-quick-takes-michigan-005311928.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2023-09-26 00:53:11

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