I am not feeling the hype on Henry as much as others. I think that Livers has a far more established track record, nearly as high a ceiling, and will likely play a more prominent role on Michigan than Henry on MSU. I think Henry is still one year away from what folks are expecting.
Other than that, I very curious for how Michigan players will compare to MSU’s in the top 10. Have to assume that both teams will have their starting 1 & 5 in the top 10. Winston will be #1 and I guess Xavier #4, Tillman #5 and Teske #8. I think considering player for player matchups between the two teams is going to make for very compelling games this upcoming season
What a relief. Your lead in photo of X made me think you were going to pick him in the 11 to 15 category. I should know better right Dylan? Haha:laughing:
Bezhanishvili is a player I find impossible to root against; the opposite of a certain point guard in Madison who is probably higher on the list.
Davison is not on the list.
Your and Inside the Hall’s insights are impeccable.
Dylan knows us well enough to know that every single person on here was absolutely livid when they saw the photo and then took a breath when it was Eastern hahaha… great stuff
Eastern rated higher than Livers? I don’t agree with that.
Came here to post the exact same thing!
Davison made the also considered list.
You mean Mr. take a dive. Haha!
I am buying all of the Aaron Henry stock. The ability to dribble-pass-shoot at 6’6 with athleticism is rare. Personally love his upside.
I actually like Nojel Eastern, but there is NO way he is a better player than Isaiah Livers!
It was asked earlier if we thought Livers was properly ranked and I thought yes. After seeing this group, I can’t say I am sold on any of them over Livers.
So the top ten in some order are: Winston, Tillman, Simpson, Teske, Cowan, Smith, Dosunmu, Stevens, Wesson, Wieskamp? Did I get them all?
Yup that’s gotta be the 10. After Winston, IMO there isn’t a ton of separation between 2 and 10.
The odd thing is that I can see why the lower end (Garza, Georgi) are over Livers more than the next two. Those guys are already established as reliable offensive linchpins, Livers is still TBD in that regard. I also get Henry, just on what I’d call a higher ceiling.
Eastern is a weird player and I may be under-rating him, but I’ve just never thought he impacted the game that much. He’s a good but not transformative defender (to my eye his biggest strength is his ability to consistently pressure the ball even against significantly smaller PGs) and a really limited offensive player.
Reuvers strengths (defense, three point shooting) and question marks (can he handle a larger offensive role and still produce?) seem to map perfectly with Livers, and I think Livers has shown more at a more important position.
I’m not a huge Eastern guy, but I do think you guys are probably underrating his defense to a degree. He’s one of the best defenders returning in the conference and I don’t think you can really overlook that. On offense, I’m not sure what to expect from him but Purdue needs people to score.
How is Livers position more important than Reuvers? Not sure I’ve heard of any position being more important outside of PG.
To me the difference in Livers and Reuvers is that Reuvers can be a game changing defensive player ala Teske, in the way he defends the rim. Livers is solid all around on D, but not game changing.
Maybe my NBA bias is showing.
In the NBA, 6’10” guys that can finish rolls to the hoop and he their hands up to block shots are a dime a dozen, but guys that can credibly defend the wing and make shots are few and far between.
Perhaps I should say Livers has a scarcer skill set.