It’s the best and most recent examples we have. Cassius was behind a terrible terrible player and still only split time with him. Bridges played 32 MPG so Christie could get there, but is he as good as Bridges? That’s a lofty goal.
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Gary Harris, Branden Dawson… There’s no one to put Akins or Christie behind next year. I think they both see a lot of time.
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Foster Loyer is offensive Tum Tum
Those guys have both been bad this year. You can say Tum Tum was a terrible player but he did something really well (defend) that Izzo valued.
You think Izzo is looking for reason to play Hoggard or Loyer?
Hoiberg looks more like a B1G-level athlete than Loyer. Much quicker.
I’m only trying to say:
- All three freshmen are good enough to play as freshmen.
- A few transfers out are necessary for this roster
- A smart transfer or two in could make a big difference
Finally… the center position is still a disaster IMO. I don’t really see it with Sissoko.
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Agreed, I don’t really think anyone should be expecting Christie and Akins to be sitting on the bench. They’re both good, Izzo knows it, and they’ll be key pieces.
I do think historically Izzo has a cap on how much he plays freshmen. In the last 10 years the only freshman who Izzo played more than 55% of minutes in conference play were Miles Bridges, Gary Harris and Keith Appling. Whereas for Michigan Hunter this year and Franz last year both hit that mark.
I think there’s two ways to look at that. Either that Izzo doesn’t play freshmen a ton unless they’re Bridgers/Harris level, or that MSU’s roster construction normally doesn’t depend on freshmen playing a ton of minutes. I think both are true. But I could also see the counter examples of both being true next year, meaning Akins/Christie end up playing major minutes. Both guys could be good enough to play major minutes, but also both guys are going to be playing roles where MSU has no established veteran to take minutes away from them. So while it’s possible that neither Christie or Akins break that 50-55% minute mark next year, I’d put money down on at least one of them being up in the 65%+ territory that Appling, Harris and Bridges were in.
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Izzo also just plays his bench a ton, period. So you have fewer guys of any age that put up big minutes numbers.
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Yes, kind of. Kithier’s PT this year makes me wonder.
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Definitely a better situation for Walton, just saying that Akins could come in and play quality point guard minutes to be better than what MSU has this year without needing to be senior Walton.
Kithier is playing 13 minutes per game. His playing time isn’t Michigan State’s problem. Michigan State’s problem is it doesn’t have a big who deserves to play 13 minutes per game.
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What do you think the minutes breakdown will be next year for MSU between Loyer, Hoggard, Akins, Christie and any returning 2 guards?
It’s really impossible to say without knowing who is on the roster.
Do people see something in Hoggard? I don’t see it at all right now… but he’s only a freshman.
At the same time, people here are probably penciling in Zeb Jackson minutes next year despite him looking even further behind as a freshman.
It’s just way early to figure out next year’s rosters. I think MSU will have multiple people leaving and it’ll probably be a good thing big picture.
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Sissoko being wholly unplayable is arguably the #1 negative recruiting bullet in the B1G this year. Consensus top-40 recruit, offers from all over the country, college-ready physique. He should be that deserving guy.
I know he is somewhat new to the sport but he wasn’t particularly raw at Wasatch. His time at MSU has been a debacle. 33% of minutes really shouldn’t be asking too much if the alternative is Kithier.
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Sissoko has looked terrible IMO. Sure it can be a negative recruiting point but it also happens with bigs.
I think most of the jokes are coming from the mindset that Loyer/Akins (best case for Akins) will split minutes 50/50. I could personally see Christie playing more like 25-30 if he’s good but I would bet it’s more like 20 MPG with Hoggard/others getting the other half of the game.
I think any defense of Izzo’s roster management RE: freshmen would peg Akins and Christie for closer to 30. I’ll be shocked if that happens.
One thing I worry about the msu frosh is that other than Akins, who also missed a ton of time, their incoming frosh have barely played a sr year and did not play fo top prep programs. Guys like Houston, diabate, and Collins will be much more prepared as frosh because of the type of programs they come from.
I did for a minute, but I wasn’t paying as close attention as I thought:
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Idk sissoko was always a boom or bust type prospect.
My guess:
PG: Veteran transfer, Akins, Loyer
SG: Christie, Hoggard
SF: Beg Henry to come back or it’s Hall and Brooks
PF: Hauser, Kithier
C: Bingham, Marble or Sissoko