Yeah its one thing to have 9 scholarship players and have 2 of them be all conference players who will be drafted.
It’s another to have 9 scholarship players who top out at “maybe all conference HM”
Akins seems like the only one with the tools to be an all conference type player. I don’t see a single NBA player on that roster.
I think also is that Izzo has made this bed. I really don’t think a lot of kids want to play for him.
I guess potentially the only guy they lose next year is Hauser so Izzo is looking at if he can return everyone else he’d have a starting lineup of:
Sr. Hoggard
Sr. Walker
Jr. Akins or Brooks
Sr. Hall
Sr. Sissoko or So. Kohler
with Jr. Akins/Brooks off the bench, So. Holloman and maybe Fears and Booker.
So the optimistic Izzo take is that this is Izzo playing for next year and basically just trying to buck trends and go with the plan of having a super old team every couple years
I think Michigan is in a way better spot for two reasons. One, Dickinson + any 4 competent guys is higher ceiling than Hoggard and Walker and Hall and Hauser and 
. Two, there presumably is serious interest in adding 1-2 more high impact players to Michigan if the NBA guys don’t return. The roster will be in a way better spot come season start.
But that doesn’t mean MSU won’t split with us. Like I said, Izzo could honestly probably find a way to split with Michigan even if Steven Izzo was the 6th man.
This is a pretty terrible take
Not really. I do think we have more possible potential, but it’s definitely no certainty.
I do think we absolutely need a high impact transfer.
I don’t think Michigan is currently way better than MSU but I think we are a bit better and we’re not coming off our two worst seasons in 20 years and our coach isn’t crying about the portal. That is why the reaction is different. We have 11 scholarships filled and we still are trying for more. Izzo has basically 9 and called it a day
How in the world would Walker still be there? He seriously has 3 years of eligibility?
He was a sophomore when he transferred and thus with Covid was basically a freshman
That is true. As much as their fans hate to admit, they are a regional school. They should be able to add some transfers. But msu as a school just isn’t appealing nationally.
izzo is also a jerk so I imagine the whole trying to get transfer thing isnt gonna work often. Funny considering their football ones.
I also think Beilein would have struggled with getting transfers. (I know he got a few, but missed on a bunch).
Who knows, if that grad transfer that was headed here until switching to UNC, Beilein might not have quit that summer.
Much more likely they miss on Booker, he scrambles, everyone realizes his roster (for even two seasons from now) is made of 5 guards and like 0 quality options at the 3-4-5, and the fan base finally gets loud about annoyance with three consecutive seasons without a banner or a second weekend appearance.
I also don’t think it should be that shocking to anyone that Izzo doesn’t wanna play by the new rules and is struggling to keep up. Elite in game coach, but there’s a reason all these coaches from that era are leaving quickly. He’s gonna be one of the only ones who 1) won’t play the portal or NIL game and 2) still keeps coaching. It won’t end with more wins, but he might legit be too stubborn to call it quits, so I am excitedly bulking up on popcorn to watch it burn out.
How can you possibly argue that MSU basketball doesn’t appeal nationally?
I’ll also add that I’d loooooooOoOooOve to know what happened with Max Christie. The staff clearly 100% expected him back and feels burned. Izzo essentially threw a cheap shot at Christie in that interview and said “me and my staff think Akins will be better”
Christie was pretty open mid-season about not rushing things. I interviewed him with F68 once and he pretty much straight up said “the plan is two years”. Something changed. And he can’t say it was playing time…I’d be surprised if his camp truly believes he was misused. Just a fascinating flip there.
oh word? that’s spicy
Yeah something def happened. Vecenie had repeatedly said he had heard that Christie was enjoying EL and was expected to return. Then suddenly he was gone and everyone said he was def not coming back
Based on their recruiting?
well we know the way Izzo gaslights guys in his season wrapup. You stink, how fortunate you’ll be back next year to work on your horrific suckitude. Christie probably didn’t fall for it.
Plus I could see a positional dispute forming that wedge fairly quickly. I’m sure Izzo was projecting Christie as this year’s off-ball 3 and maybe Christie sees himself as a playmaking 2.
Christie could have also decided a number with 7 zeros was pretty cool.
yeah how is Izzo on NIL? haven’t heard much there
Didn’t his entering the draft graphic mention getting an accurate assessment?
After the early 2000s where he lost a few guys very early, practically no one entered the draft early for over a decade there, despite numerous Top 50 and Top 100 players going there.
Grumpy!
Has a lot of chefs in the kitchen trying to configure things. Mel Tucker very quickly spun up pretty player-friendly infrastructure there. The finances are there to do the same with basketball. There’s one reason it hasn’t happened.
And that’s why the friction with the fan base is only going to build.