All things B1G players declaring for NBA and/or key players transfer thread

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Harris and Trice played their usual roles against Duke. They still lost the game and it wasn't a fluke. Plus they won every game those guys missed. Dawson's season statistical production his "injured" sophomore year was eerily similar to that of his healthy frosh season. If they weren't healthy then Izzo shouldn't have played them. I don't get why some people romanticize the injuries that MSU has compared to other teams, maybe because Izzo loves media attention and publicity and dramatizes any and every injury his team has had. Oklahoma State had a guy miss the whole season pretty much that could be a major impact player next year if he gets a waiver to play another season - JP Olukemi, now that is an injury that could be relevant to the top teams next year.

As for where the MSU players rate in the B1G next year, Frazier at PSU will be first team all-Big Ten most likely. Ross at OSU will be playing a much bigger role. Other guys are going to be joining teams and getting bigger roles. It's not quite as simple to look at awards lists one year and cut & past for awards in future years - if that were the case, then Kalin Lucas would've been a 3-time Big Ten POY. MSU has a very good 3-man combo of Appling, Harris and Payne, but it takes more than 3 great players to make an F4.

UK won a title in 2012 with three key freshmen. They're not just the freshmen this upcoming season, as Poythress and Cauley both come back and were very productive last year. Let's be honest, this incoming UK class is crazy good and doesn't pass the smell test but they will be tough to deal with.

Travis Walton isn't walking through that door. Derrick Nix is walking out of it, though. It's going to be hard for MSU to live up to the lofty expectations people are placing on them, because Nix was a very good big for them and Izzo likes to play two bigs, and there does not appear to be anyone who will take his spot that will be quite as good as Nix was last year.
 


vmpaul34 said:
For a team that suffered a lot of injuries last year, Harris and Trice were injured. Dawson could not work on his game over the summer for rehabbing an ACL injury. Dawson lacked explosiveness the entire season. Appling was worn down by season's end and had tendinitis is his knees playing 39 to 40 minutes a game while Trice was injured. Payne, Harris and Appling were second team all B1G. They are all sure to move up to first team all B1G since nobody is returning that was first team last year. Last time I checked a team full of freshmen has not won a championship. As much talent as UK had last year, Jones, Lamb and Miller's senior leadership were the difference in that team. Izzo will have 2 seniors that have not gone to a F4. The last time that happened in 2009, Travis Walton willed that team to the F4 because he did not want to be the first 4 year player under Izzo to not go to a F4. I have a feeling Payne and Appling will be equally motivated.
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No excuses for Sparty next year. Especially with Izzo's great track record, I gotta' believe anything short of a Big Ten championship and Final Four appearance would be a disappointment in East Lansing next season. No reason they shouldn't be great, and I'm sure with Payne back in the mix Izzo is talking to his players about a national championship and nothing less.

That said, have grown a little weary of hearing Izzo mention injuries, especially the ones that happened in the offseason. Every team has their share of 'em before & during a season. MSU is no different in that regard. Some years you have a lot of 'em, some years you have very few. They're a fact of life.
 

With one graduating senior, how is it that Michigan State can add both Schilling and Ellis as incoming freshmen? Are they running off one of their scholarship players? Izzo is really starting to annoy me, almost as much as Bo Ryan. If he manages to pull in Tyus it'll be full on hate.

Also, I can't imagine Gavin Schilling is too happy with the Payne decision, no matter how MSU fans or Schilling himself spins it. Throughout the recruiting process Schilling and his coach were saying that early PT was a key, and with Payne back, his role at MSU (at least freshman year) just went dowwwnnnnnn.
 

I'm sure Schilling was very aware of the possibility Payne could return. If he wasn't he's awfully naive.

Pretty certain Izzo didn't "Crean" anyone, if my count is correct. Last season his scholarship players were Appling, Byrd, Costello, Dawson, Gauna, Harris, Kaminski (redshirt), Kearney, Nix, Payne, Trice, and Valentine. That's 12.

Nix graduated and Kearney transferred mid-season. Still plenty of room for Ellis and Schilling, which gets them back to 12. 13 is the max, correct?
 


SelectionSunday said:
I'm sure Schilling was very aware of the possibility Payne could return. If he wasn't he's awfully naive.

Pretty certain Izzo didn't "Crean" anyone, if my count is correct. Last season his scholarship players were Appling, Byrd, Costello, Dawson, Gauna, Harris, Kaminski (redshirt), Kearney, Nix, Payne, Trice, and Valentine. That's 12.

Nix graduated and Kearney transferred mid-season. Still plenty of room for Ellis and Schilling, which gets them back to 12. 13 is the max, correct?
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Yes we technically have 1 left but that's being banked for 2014.

As for the injuries. Trice played pretty well all season and his 3point shooting kept us in a few games but after his second concussion later in the year he wasn't the same. Dawson's numbers were similar to his freshman year but look at the later part of the season (mostly post Michigan game where he got hit hard in the head and had to leave the game) his production went way way down. He didn't have an offseason to work on his game so he was pretty easy to defend and late in the season his conditioning (or lack thereof from the injury) made it harder on him.

As a Spartan fan I think we have one of the better line ups in the country for next year. But a lot of that hinges on guys getting healthy (Harris' shoulders, Trice) and guys hitting the gym to work on their game (mostly Dawson, Valentine and Costello).
 

Justinc882 said:
Yes we technically have 1 left but that's being banked for 2014.

As for the injuries. Trice played pretty well all season and his 3point shooting kept us in a few games but after his second concussion later in the year he wasn't the same. Dawson's numbers were similar to his freshman year but look at the later part of the season (mostly post Michigan game where he got hit hard in the head and had to leave the game) his production went way way down. He didn't have an offseason to work on his game so he was pretty easy to defend and late in the season his conditioning (or lack thereof from the injury) made it harder on him.

As a Spartan fan I think we have one of the better line ups in the country for next year. But a lot of that hinges on guys getting healthy (Harris' shoulders, Trice) and guys hitting the gym to work on their game (mostly Dawson, Valentine and Costello).
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Out of curiosity, is it the general feeling most Sparty fans have given up on Byrd, or are they still holding out hope he'll find his shooting stroke? It was glaringly obvious last season he's lost all his confidence.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Out of curiosity, is it the general feeling most Sparty fans have given up on Byrd, or are they still holding out hope he'll find his shooting stroke? It was glaringly obvious last season he's lost all his confidence.
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No one has given up on Byrd, people have lost confidence in him. The problem with Byrd is you hear players, and media who have attended practice (some of which I know personally) and they all continually say that Byrd is damn near automatic in practice. There's just something in live games that blocks him. His shot doesn't look broken, he has a quick release. It's just a mental thing for him.

As odd as it sounds in the Northwestern game @ MSU Byrd got fouled and stepped to the FT line, smiled and knocked in 4 FT's without a blink. That sounds silly but for the first time all season Byrd looked confident shooting ANYTHING. He was only hitting about 33%% on FT's at that point (was 4 of 12) so for him to step up, smile and knock in 4 straight with complete confidence was nice.

MSU has the potential to be an insanely good shooting team next year if guys develop over the summer but having Byrd get his mental block figured out could be huge for us. That would give us 3 guys that are 6'9 + that can step out and hit a 3 (Byrd, Payne, and supposedly Kaminski is the best shooter on the team per the players).
 




Justinc882 said:
No one has given up on Byrd, people have lost confidence in him. The problem with Byrd is you hear players, and media who have attended practice (some of which I know personally) and they all continually say that Byrd is damn near automatic in practice. There's just something in live games that blocks him. His shot doesn't look broken, he has a quick release. It's just a mental thing for him.
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That sounds like Oto haha
 



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