Tom Izzo is a Hall of Fame coach, and arguably the most successful college coach of the past two decades. I've gotten very tired of parts of his act--the whining, excuse making, etc.--but that doesn't detract from his accomplishments, and he did a great job this year. While I sharply disagree with the meme that MSU is a plucky band of under-talented, overachieving guys--there aren't 15 teams in the country (and maybe not 10) which combine (a) 4 top 100 players in the playing rotation, including a McDonald's All-American, (b) 4 juniors or seniors starting and/or playing starter minutes, and (c) 2 guys (Dawson and Valentine) likely to play in the NBA--the fact remains that this is not a team with the pure talent of many MSU rosters, including the last few which did not advance as far as this one has. Kudos to Izzo on making the Final Four, and this team's play throughout the post-season. Similarly, kudos for the player development--something for which he has been criticized--of guys like Trice, Valentine and even Costello.
MSU's success in this post-season has been built on the backs of 4 guys--Dawson, Trice, Valentine and Costello--who committed to MSU in the summer of 2011 or before. No other guy playing this season is, IMO, a guy who will turn out to be anything beyond a role player. Yes, players improve (see, in particular, Trice and Valentine), but those guys had shooting/ball skills all along--their improvements, like those of Michigan players like Stauskas, LeVert, Albrecht, etc., have come with maturity, strength, and experience. I don't see that in anyone from MSU's bottom two classes--solid contributors, but not guys who can consistently score and/or rebound at a high level. Maybe Clark--the jury is out on that for me.
Next year's recruiting class for MSU is a good one, though not elite unless they grab Swanigan. Davis is a taller, thinner Dawson (elite offensive rebounder, shot blocker, lane filler on the break without much in the way of shooting/ball skills), and Dawson, despite his flaws, is a very, very good college player. Harris, the transfer, is a proven high-major scorer, albeit one who has the same strengths and weaknesses as Forbes who is already on the roster, and whose former team went from very bad to Sweet Sixteen the year after he left without adding any great incoming players or getting notable guys back from injuries. McQuaid and Ahearn, I'm not so sold on, though McQuaid can shoot the ball.
Overall, MSU will be good going forward, as long as Izzo is there. However, 2 week run notwithstanding, MSU does not have a roster going forward that you look at and say I'd gladly trade for that, and IMO, they're going to miss Dawson and Trice a lot. Izzo's teams play incredibly hard, and those which are led by upperclassmen who combine skills and leadership abilities are a force. After Valentine leaves, I don't see that, unless Nairn, who has the leadership ability, learns to shoot the ball. If MSU is going to go beyond good to very good, '16 recruiting is going to be very important.
MSU's success in this post-season has been built on the backs of 4 guys--Dawson, Trice, Valentine and Costello--who committed to MSU in the summer of 2011 or before. No other guy playing this season is, IMO, a guy who will turn out to be anything beyond a role player. Yes, players improve (see, in particular, Trice and Valentine), but those guys had shooting/ball skills all along--their improvements, like those of Michigan players like Stauskas, LeVert, Albrecht, etc., have come with maturity, strength, and experience. I don't see that in anyone from MSU's bottom two classes--solid contributors, but not guys who can consistently score and/or rebound at a high level. Maybe Clark--the jury is out on that for me.
Next year's recruiting class for MSU is a good one, though not elite unless they grab Swanigan. Davis is a taller, thinner Dawson (elite offensive rebounder, shot blocker, lane filler on the break without much in the way of shooting/ball skills), and Dawson, despite his flaws, is a very, very good college player. Harris, the transfer, is a proven high-major scorer, albeit one who has the same strengths and weaknesses as Forbes who is already on the roster, and whose former team went from very bad to Sweet Sixteen the year after he left without adding any great incoming players or getting notable guys back from injuries. McQuaid and Ahearn, I'm not so sold on, though McQuaid can shoot the ball.
Overall, MSU will be good going forward, as long as Izzo is there. However, 2 week run notwithstanding, MSU does not have a roster going forward that you look at and say I'd gladly trade for that, and IMO, they're going to miss Dawson and Trice a lot. Izzo's teams play incredibly hard, and those which are led by upperclassmen who combine skills and leadership abilities are a force. After Valentine leaves, I don't see that, unless Nairn, who has the leadership ability, learns to shoot the ball. If MSU is going to go beyond good to very good, '16 recruiting is going to be very important.
