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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.
As Rod and Eric point out in their preseason conference overview, we have plenty of reasons for optimism this season: we have the best backcourt; every team in the conference has issues; we have the most returning players who have played important roles; we have Izzo.
I want to add that I am optimistic because, while I liked Bingham and Brown, I was not comfortable with their being our most influential upperclassmen last year. I know that Rod and Eric (and Izzo) have pointed out that this team needs someone to take a leadership role, and I am hopeful that someone like Hoggard will be able to fill that role now that he is a senior member of the team. I didn’t think that Bingham or Brown ever made their teammates better, but I think Hoggard, Walker, and Hall have that ability, especially Hoggard. Again, I liked Bingham and Brown but they were not the ones I would want setting the atmosphere for a team. Actually, I even suspect the fire that Kohler and Holloman will bring will have some subtle influence. Anyway, I was glad to hear Rod and Eric validate my optimism.
I haven't listened to Rod & Eric's MSU preview yet, but plan to do so real soon. Nonetheless, I think it was Rod who had previously said that we don't have to replace what players lost were supposed to be, we just have to replace what they were. I buy into this context and, with that, am very optimistic about the coming season. I think outside pundits are very much underestimating us, but no one should ever underestimate Izzo.
Christie may have been a 5-star and had 5-star potential, but that's not how he played last year. He took the second most shots (behind Brown) and missed way too many good looks, and his ballhandling was average at best. Meanwhile, Bingham was real good early in the season and again late in the season. However, that inconsistency (may have been Covid related?) cost us in the middle part of the season, both in terms of seeding and momentum in general. As far as an example for Gabe, he had a 4 for 27 stretch in February where we went 1-3 over those games. As good as both Bingham and Brown were at times, they were almost as inconsistent at times too. Then, as refreshing as Marble was at times, he still only averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds in conference play. All of this is not only replaceable, there's substantial room by which to improve upon it.
Combining the above with arguably the best guards in the conference, I like our chances and like them a lot. Maybe I'm always bullish when it comes to Spartan hoops, but I expect us to compete for a Big Ten title this year and be a legitimate threat for the Final Four.
Kindness is free.
Agree. Your point about replacing who they were and not who we hoped they would be is a good one. I also expect some of those players to improve which means we can be quite a bit better and maybe even more so in a probably down Big Ten.