That’s just how their man to man defense looks.
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Maybe he has grad assistant Ben Carter explaining how to go up against zone.
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I wonder if Winston is able to hide behind a zone better?
I don’t really know where to put this but I’m having a debate with some MSU fan buddies right now about ranking big ten rosters this year in terms of future pros. I think Michigan has a chance to have the most 4 years from now, and I’m curious what others think.
Maryland (Jalen Smith, Bruno Fernando) and Indiana (Romeo Langford, Jerome Hunter / Juwan Morgan?) should each get 2. I think we could easily have three or more future pros on this team. I also put the over/under at 0.5 for MSU players this season to make an NBA roster someday and they didn’t like that at all.
That’s hard to say, because it’s so difficult to see four years from now given how we don’t know who will go when, how they develop, etc.
Michigan should have three, definitely. I think Indiana probably has three also, the three you gave, and Maryland could have three also (Cowan has the sort of game I could see in the NBA). It seems like those are all too low and too high somehow, I never really think about this and it’s a difficult activity.
I take the over, for sure, on the MSU question though. One of Winston, Ward, Langford, or McQuaid will surely be on an NBA roster at some point in their future career. Tillman and Bingham could too. They’re in with a shout for three too still in the league in four years, in my opinion.
I think the question is will there be any team this season with an over of 3.5 players currently on roster in 2018-19. That would be a tough bet. There’s quite a few I could see with three, but you’re a bit tougher pressed to find a team with four. I think Michigan, Indiana, and MSU are the top three with the potential to do so.
On Michigan’s roster, I honestly think we have many guys with a solid shot at playing in the NBA.
I would say all of Iggy, Poole, Mathews and Johns are NBA talents. And it would not shock me if, through some strong development, Castleton and Livers are future pros too.
MSU? In a million years, I can’t see McQuaid or Tillman making it. McQuaid doesn’t shoot it nearly well enough, and Tillman is an undersized NBA four with no outside game - a dinosaur these days. Ward, too, is undersized with no outside game. I think their best bets are Langford, Winston, and Bingham, and I really have no idea if any of those guys make it. Maybe Winston.
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I would say maybe Bingham. No other current MSU player is likely to develop into a drafted player, imo. Out of curiosity what players do your MSU friends think have a good shot at the NBA?
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This was my argument, except I think no way Winston ever will. Langford, Bingham and the other freshman wings are the only MSU guys I see as possibilities but none are guaranteed and with izzo’s development history of wings, good luck
My buddies (a couple of dummies in all honesty) claimed Langford will have a “ALL CAPS BREAKOUT YEAR” with Bridges gone. They think Ward has a legitimate shot, agree with me that Cassius is unlikely. Then they are banking on one of Aaron Henry or Marcus Bingham being a future pro as well.
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Bingham, Brown and Ward seem like an easy list of three possibles. I would say Winston maybe as an outside shot (look at a lot of the small PGs who get minutes in the league). Could also add Aaron Henry to that list although I’ve thought of him more as a likely great college player than a pro, too early to say there.
If Langford couldn’t be projected as a future pro after two years though, why would we assume Bingham or Brown will be? Also is Nick Ward even on the NBA radar at all right now?
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Bingham and Brown have NBA talent (i.e. Bingham’s length, Brown’s length/athleticism) and the NBA is about talent. Langford has never really been as athletic as billed since all of his injuries IMO. I don’t really see what Langford has to do with Bingham or Brown to be honest.
Kam Chatman’s development had nothing to do with DJ Wilson’s development, for example.
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That’s fair. I’ve always viewed Chatman and Irvin as the only two JB guys that haven’t significantly developed and I think there’s a much larger sample size of Izzo’s guards/wings that haven’t. Good point on Langford’s injuries, but I also think he projected as an NBA level skill guy out of high school and hasn’t been utilized in a productive way at all in college. I don’t think Bingham or Brown are nearly as polished as basketball players, but if they ever get there I could definitely see them getting drafted. I just have doubts that Izzo will be the one to turn raw athletic wings into guys with NBA skill sets. Raymar Morgan, Branden Dawson, Durrell Summers, etc.
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Nick Ward is not an NBA player. I know he has a really big wingspan relative to his size, but can he guard an NBA ball screen? Don’t think so
I’m not a fan of Ward as a pro, but it isn’t fair to say he has no chance. Isaac Haas is on an NBA roster right now. Can he guard an NBA ball screen?
@buckets12 The theme is that pro “development” usually has a lot more to do with the individual than the coach. It isn’t like Beilein did something differently with Irvin or Chatman than Hardaway, for example. Or that Izzo did something different with Gary Harris than Josh Langford. I know that doesn’t fit into the narrative that some like to paint though.
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So you don’t agree that Beilein is better at player development than Izzo?
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I still think a coach plays a huge part in getting people to the NBA just through style. Beilein coaches things that NBA coaches also find important right now. Barely any NBA coaches currently use their players like Izzo does and that doesn’t allow them to showcase their skills as well.
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I’m not saying that. Beilein does a great job of player development. I’d say he does an even better job of featuring players properly in his offense. Also a great job of scouting and talent evaluation. Those second two things probably are as important as anything in terms of “developing pros” in college.
But at the end of the day, a player’s NBA chances have most to do with their individual self.
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I think we agree in that case 