Everyone keeps starting Gabe Brown at the 2 and I really don’t get it. The 2 has significant on-ball duties in Izzo’s system. Brown has like 8 total dribbles in three years. He has a career assist rate of 4.2. He is a pure catch and shoot wing. I think he is a starter but certainly not a 2.
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Does it? McQuiad? Forbes? Langford? I’m not sure it really has to have on-ball duties.
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Can Brown defend twos? I’ve never thought of him as particularly agile, but I’ll be the first to admit I don’t really watch other teams’ players individual defense much.
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12% ast rate
9% ast rate
12% ast rate
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I would at least call the Izzo 2 a secondary creator.
Why not? Defensive matchups depend so much on the other 9 guys on the floor. If it’s a two guard team, you just play Akins next to Walker. If it’s a guy like Eli, Brown seems fine for that matchup. His length is a pretty bit advantage.
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Yeah, none of those guys were creators. I get that 4 is really low but so is 9-12 or whatever.
Walker and Akins are going to be the two main playmakers on that roster. They’ll play together a fair amount I imagine.
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It’s an order of magnitude lower. If 12 is already low I don’t see how 4 is playable in the role that people are projecting for him. He literally does not move the ball ever.
Walker and Akins are going to be the two main playmakers on that roster.
I think so too, I am just confounded by the Gabe Brown predictions around the MSU sphere.
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So much of that is dependent on role. Improving your assist rate from 4 to 9 is fairly insignificant. Improving your assist rate from 9 to 25 is really really tough.
My point is just that MSU has had a bunch of twos who basically just catch and shoot.
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That’s all fair. I just can’t process Gabe Brown as a 2 for whatever reason. If Tom Izzo plays him there I will be forced to deputize myself and arrest Izzo for high crimes.
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Next-man-up optimism. Rocket Woods got plenty of that last year.
What are the predictions re: Brown? Something beyond veteran rotation piece who makes a lot of threes?
That’s how I see his role, but I think the question is how significant can he be with that role. MSU is a little light on players who can play the 1-2-3 effectively (I don’t agree with BQ that Hall is a 3). So for those minutes you have Walker, Christie, Akins, and Brown essentially…unless you’re a Hoggard fan. Brown is the veteran and one of the few guys on the roster with some success hitting shots - but he’s never played consistent minutes for Izzo. Can Brown (and the other three for that matter) play like 30mpg? If not, where do those minutes go?
Agree with this. I can’t believe Izzo hasn’t gotten a wing transfer from the portal. I’m pretty confused why there’s two open scholarships and MSU just hasn’t been actively involved in any transfer recruitments publicly since Walker.
Brooks is the one other name MSU fans throw out as someone who will take some minutes at the 3 but I doubt it will be many.
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Pierre Brooks too, no?
I guess so…I know less about Brooks. In your MegaPod it didn’t seem like either of you were sure of his role as a freshman as he was more of a bully-ball forward (if I remember correctly) who would need some time to develop and adapt to the college game. It seems like there’s a clear path for him to at least get a few minutes in Izzo’s 11 man rotation.
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Maybe I am reading too much into it but I keep seeing him tapped as the senior guard instructor, like he is going to shepherd Walker and Christie and Akins and teach them how to be guards in the B1G.
I understand that the only other incumbent option for that role is…Hoggard, but Gabe Brown isn’t really a guard and I don’t want him mentoring my guards if I want them to develop as passers, ballhandlers, initiators, creators, etc.
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Could be a scary recruiter at the right program. Lots of DC and Team Takeover connections
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I feel like the “mentor” role doesn’t really involve teaching skills as much as just general leadership, no? Eli Brooks can mentor Frankie Collins even though Eli Brooks is not a great playmaker, for example.
The larger issue that I think this gets at is MSU probably doesn’t have a really proven veteran leader because two of its seniors are guys who have never really had Izzo’s trust (Bingham, Brown).
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Wonder why though, both are solid Big Ten players.