And Hunter is 7’1 while Kohler is 6’9 so he doesn’t have the advantage of just being bigger than everyone like Hunter did. Defensive flaws should be more pronounced in his undersized frame
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My best guess Izzo lineup:
Hoggard 25 / Walker 10 / Holloman 5
Akins 25 / Walker 15
Hall 15 / Brooks 15 / Horizon Transfer 10
Hauser 23 / Hall 17
Sissoko 15 / Hauser 9 / Kohler 16
This was actually really hard. Izzo might actually be forced to shorten to a tight 8 man rotation unfortunately
Who is the Horizon transfer?
No one in particular. Just a placeholder for the caliber of player I expect Izzo to get
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That team is going to be a disaster on the defensive end.
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Horizon transfer? Recent history says that’s a little bit ambitious for Izzo.
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Seriously, this won’t be a bad team. You’ve got some decent guards and you’ve got a few senior role players, and Izzo has a good track record of getting a great last year out of guys like that. It’s lacking the kind of lead dog or two he needs to do some real damage, but it’s not gonna be terrible.
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Hoggard is a budding star. They’re expecting big things from Kohler. Akins and Brooks are both really good prospects; Akins is definitely a breakout candidate this year. Walker, Hauser and Hall are solid upper classman who are each capable of going off on any given night. They could be pretty good.
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The problem is with no depth things could go really bad really quickly
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Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this looks like a conference contender, but it also doesn’t look like a tournament miss either.
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Oh? Someone want to sell me on this?
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Did Hoggard learn how to shoot?
Also, expecting big things and getting them are quite different. I’m sure a lot was expected of Christie and overall he was very average. I’m not sure how well a freshman 6-9 post is going to fare.
If you watched Hoggard v Purdue in the Big Ten semis and didn’t come away from that thinking that he is the next great MSU point guard, I really don’t know what to tell you. We’ll see!
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He does a thing real well and is a fit in that offense in transition, but don’t see next great PG.
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I’m just not a huge Hoggard guy. I also think it is really risky to try to project people based on their best games or a stretch of games (i.e. Rocket Watts).
To me, “budding star” implies that he has the potential to be a best player/All-Big Ten type guy for a really good team which I don’t completely see. Shooting and turnovers are a big limitation.
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From conference tourney on Hoggard averaged 10 and 5 assists (to only 1 turnover) on 50% from the floor in 23 MPG. He could be very very good if he’s the full time point guard, but it’s more likely he’s the same guy again in a timeshare with a transfer from Northeastern that led the country in 3P% but still wouldn’t shoot open ones.
Also relative to the conference, Hoggard might be a “star” this year at PG. But that says more about the guards in the conference IMO.
Reminds me of this:
“Watts averaged 17.8 points during Michigan State’s final four games of last season before things were shut down due to COVID-19. If he can keep his offense elite while also creating for his teammates, this 6-2 sophomore has the requisites to be one of the best players in the Big Ten,” Rothstein wrote on Watts.
Same idea with Brandon Johns… etc.
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Eh, I was pushing back on that at the time. If I remember correctly his percentages still kinda stunk. That was projecting Watts to play a whole new role (and maybe be the PG???) and this is projecting Hoggard to just do what he’s already done well but with more opportunity.
FWIW: I would also put Terrance Williams shooting 53% from 3-point range in March in this category.
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I agree that it’s asking Hoggard to do what he’s already done, but that’s one element of what makes for a well-rounded PG. He’s a good player and useful and there are games in which he’s gonna go off. There are other games he’s not gonna do much.
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