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Welcome to The Final Four Is Not on the Schedule discussion board. A forum for the serious and casual MSU fan. Opinions welcome – stay respectful.
Many fans comparing this class to the 2016 class and generally focus on comparing rankings, but it is interesting to consider some parallels by position. I will make some obvious points, but I would be curious what others think about the comparisons:
Normand - Langford: both about 6’5 wings who can shoot, and while Langford was more highly rated, his injuries kept him from ever showing us what he might have been.
Booker - Ward: I loved Ward who surprised me as a freshman, but Booker will likely outperform him. One advantage Ward had, though, was that his body was ready for the Big 10 as a freshman. I don’t know just how good Booker will be, but regardless, I expect he will be gone after one year. Of course, Ward has his limitations as he was mostly good around the basket and once he got the ball he was going to shoot, while Booker is supposed to be really versatile.
Fears - Winston: Winston is my all-time favorite Spartan (unless it’s Tillman), but Fears, if given the chance might just match his freshman numbers of 7 points and 5 assists a game. If he comes anywhere close to what Winston did for his sophomore-seniors that would be amazing.
Coen - Bridges: Both are amazing athletes and vicious dunkers. While Bridges was rated quite a bit higher, Coen might be underrated. I am not sure how I would differentiate the two.
@hazelmotes I guess I wouldn’t make much of a direct comparison to the 16 class because they are such different players in terms of strengths, roster fit, etc. I’ll offer the following historical comparison points that I see for these guys.
Booker - Jaren Jackson, obviously. Indy kids. Tall and athletic with ridiculous wingspan. Skilled with legit off the dribble ability to go with a reliable perimeter shot. So it’s an easy one to make. What will determine if X can have a freshman season on par with the one Jaren had will come down to a few things, I think…
- Can he gain some good weight/strength? Jaren made major strides over his final 12 months of HS and it made a difference for him. Not just about the ability to play in the post but holding up defensively…being able to secure rebounds in traffic. That kind of thing.
- can X start to translate that wingspan into big time rim protection? Despite the 7’4” wingspan, he hasn’t yet been a big time shot blocker. MSU could really benefit from his improvement in taking potential to production around the rim. Jaren was elite in this area from Day One, so I’m not expecting X to get to his level, but rather to be a factor at some level.
Fears - Mateen Cleaves. Yeah, heady stuff but I’ve said it before and was glad to see Izzo say it today to confirm I’m not going too far. He has all the same traits. Toughness. Leadership. Knows how to win. Charisma. He’s a true floor leader, can get to the rim and score, looks to be improving his jumper (was great in that regard with USA basketball this summer) and should be a hellacious defender. I think between him and Tre Holloman, MSU’s search for more traditional Izzo style vocal leadership has found answers.
Carr - BJ Dawson, but with a twist. I see the same ferociously explosive athleticism Dawson had. Size is similar. Strength appears to have the potential to be similar. Positional/defensive flexibility appears to have potential to be similar. Where Carr may differ is that I think he’s got a chance to be a much more versatile offensive player. He’s shown signs of having a respectable handle and his jumper is reportedly improving.
Normand - McQuaid, but again with a bit of a twist. It’s an easy comparison…both from Texas, both recruitments in which MSU got in late and sealed the deal quickly. Both 6’5ish with well above average athleticism. Both strong jumpshooters. Both capable and versatile defenders. However, I think Normand has perhaps a little extra gear in terms of his frame and strength versus Matt. His body almost reminds me more of Kyle Ahrens.
@rodmsu1968 Well, that would be a sweet class: Jackson, Cleaves, Dawson, McQuaid.
Another interesting aspect for this amazing class is the roster that they come into versus some previous classes like 2016. The only other PG on the roster when Cash came in was Tum (nothing against Tum by the way). Fears will come into a situation with two damn good PGs already on the roster. Fears may be my favorite recruit in a long time, but I really like that fact that he comes into a situation with Hoggard and Holloman already here, and feel it will allow him to have a much smoother and easier transition in. Booker on the other hand is a one-and-done potential type who slots in to major minutes immediately at the 4 with both Hauser and Hall likely gone. I think for him, based on the fact that he likely won't be in EL long, this is also a great situation. I also wonder if having a decent rim protector in Mady (and hopefully even further improved next year) already on the roster will reduce the need for X to come in and be the shot blocker JJ was right out of the gate next year. Maybe that will simplify his defensive development a little. I'm curious to see how the other two slot in. I assume Normand comes in as a back up knock down shooter at both the 2 and 3 behind Akins and Brooks. I also assume Carr will get back up minutes at both the 3 and 4. Again, more versatility to the roster. As much as I love this class, I really love how it mixes and fits with the existing roster that will return. It is almost a perfect fit. I can't wait to see how it comes together, but expect big, big things for this team in the 2023-24 season!
@msu_oxfordstrong Good points. Not only were we weak at the starting PG, but when Ward came in he played major minutes because of injuries. He was not held as accountable as he would have normally been.
Next year, I imagine the starting lineup will be Hoggard - Akins - Brooks - Booker - Sissoko and the bench will feature a lineup that will also be pretty good: Fears - Holloman - Normand - Carr - Kohler.
@hazelmotes I agree on your next year's projected starting line-up. For the back-ups, many of those guys will play multiple spots, so it's not like a true second unit. Also, you forgot Carter. I think his slope of improvement is going to be impressive and he will be in the mix next year for sure. That's an impressive 11-deep. We will be deeper positionally at the 1 and 5 it seems. As we will have 3 true PGs (maybe Holloman keeps developing his shot and can slide to the 2 a little?) and 3 true 5s (maybe Carter develops the ability to shift to the 4 a little - I'm not sure Kohler has the ability to guard 4s, but we will see). At the 2, 3, 4 we don't go 3-deep, but have guys who are very versatile. Akins can play 2 or 3 and guard 1-3 as well as anyone, Brooks is a 3 but give minutes at the 4, Normand is a good size wing, Carr has ability and size to fit at the 3 or 4, Booker is a 4 but could definitely play 5 if the other 3 aren't cutting it (I don't expect we will need to play Booker at the 5, but may do it for some small ball mismatch opportunities). Man, we're still a year away from the group. So fun to think about. Now to spend the entire day counting down until the Gonzaga game. I've been smack talking with my guy Matt Timme (Drew's dad) all week, so we better show up strong tonight! LOL