1. When it comes to recruiting, and the roster composition, I feel like we're adopting a model somewhat similar to Harbaugh's philosophy - "competition."
2. Right now, other than Walton at the point and Levert at the two (should he return), there are probably no guaranteed starting spots. Yes, based on the way he finished the year, you would have to assume Irvin starts at the three. And you would also have to think Doyle at the five. But the four position is completely up for grabs - Chatman, Wilson (unless the staff sees him as only a five), Dawkins, Wagner, Robinson - all are viable possibilities. Similarly, who is Doyle's backup? Wilson? Donnal? It's really hard to say.
3. Also, how do you distribute minutes? I mean, JB typically likes to go only 7-8 deep. We have four clear candidates for top minutes - Walton, Levert, Doyle, Irvin. I can't see a situation in which those four are not playing a LOT of minutes, unless Irvin reverts to bad habits (poor defense, not moving the ball on offense). So then you have 3-4 of the following seven (!!!!) guys competing for the remaining minutes: Wilson, Donnal, Chatman, Robinson, Dawkins, Wagner, and MAAR. That's not even counting Spike - his injury situation concerns me, and I wonder if a redshirt may happen.
4. In all likelihood, I think we are headed for a deeper rotation - both because we have a lot of talented guys who will want and need to play, and because we have very few guys who are *so* talented that they clearly deserve those minutes over others.
5. In short, we have one guy (Levert) who will likely be an all-conference first team talent, maybe two more (Walton and Irvin) who could challenge for second or third team, and then several guys who are good, or have the potential to be good, but none of them (other than *maybe* Dawkins) are likely to be really good next year.
6. If I had to guess about how the minutes are distributed, here's what I would guess:
Assuming Spike does *not* redshirt:
PG: Walton (27), Spike (13)
SG: Levert (30), MAAR (10)
SF: Irvin (25), Dawkins (15)
PF: Robinson (25), Chatman (15)
C: Doyle (28), Wilson (12)
That's a 10 man rotation that has Wagner redshirting and Donnal just really not playing. Of course, Euro players rarely come here to redshirt, so I'm not sure that's even workable.
Also, we might easily reverse the minutes for Dawkins and Robinson above - if Dawkins keeps playing like he did to close the year, I think you probably have to start him.
And then, what if we added Kenny Williams? What the heck do you do at that point?
If Spike redshirts, I think it might look like this:
PG: Walton (30), Levert (10)
SG: Levert (20), MAAR (10), Irvin (10)
SF: Irvin (20), Robinson (20)
PF: Dawkins (25), Chatman (15)
C: Doyle (28), Wilson (12)
5. If you think WE have a roster glut, check out MSU's wing players - they literally have the following guys for the two and three positions: Valentine, Forbes, Marvin Clark, Bess, Ellis, Eron Harris, McQuaid, and Ahrens. Sure, they can redshirt McQuaid and Ahrens, and maybe Valentine will get some run at the point, but that's still six guys for two positions, and you Eron Harris expects to start from day one. Moreover, they're unlikely to ever go small because in addition to the fact that Izzo doesn't really do that, they have four guys (Costello, Schilling, Davis, Swanigan) for the PF/C positions.
2. Right now, other than Walton at the point and Levert at the two (should he return), there are probably no guaranteed starting spots. Yes, based on the way he finished the year, you would have to assume Irvin starts at the three. And you would also have to think Doyle at the five. But the four position is completely up for grabs - Chatman, Wilson (unless the staff sees him as only a five), Dawkins, Wagner, Robinson - all are viable possibilities. Similarly, who is Doyle's backup? Wilson? Donnal? It's really hard to say.
3. Also, how do you distribute minutes? I mean, JB typically likes to go only 7-8 deep. We have four clear candidates for top minutes - Walton, Levert, Doyle, Irvin. I can't see a situation in which those four are not playing a LOT of minutes, unless Irvin reverts to bad habits (poor defense, not moving the ball on offense). So then you have 3-4 of the following seven (!!!!) guys competing for the remaining minutes: Wilson, Donnal, Chatman, Robinson, Dawkins, Wagner, and MAAR. That's not even counting Spike - his injury situation concerns me, and I wonder if a redshirt may happen.
4. In all likelihood, I think we are headed for a deeper rotation - both because we have a lot of talented guys who will want and need to play, and because we have very few guys who are *so* talented that they clearly deserve those minutes over others.
5. In short, we have one guy (Levert) who will likely be an all-conference first team talent, maybe two more (Walton and Irvin) who could challenge for second or third team, and then several guys who are good, or have the potential to be good, but none of them (other than *maybe* Dawkins) are likely to be really good next year.
6. If I had to guess about how the minutes are distributed, here's what I would guess:
Assuming Spike does *not* redshirt:
PG: Walton (27), Spike (13)
SG: Levert (30), MAAR (10)
SF: Irvin (25), Dawkins (15)
PF: Robinson (25), Chatman (15)
C: Doyle (28), Wilson (12)
That's a 10 man rotation that has Wagner redshirting and Donnal just really not playing. Of course, Euro players rarely come here to redshirt, so I'm not sure that's even workable.
Also, we might easily reverse the minutes for Dawkins and Robinson above - if Dawkins keeps playing like he did to close the year, I think you probably have to start him.
And then, what if we added Kenny Williams? What the heck do you do at that point?
If Spike redshirts, I think it might look like this:
PG: Walton (30), Levert (10)
SG: Levert (20), MAAR (10), Irvin (10)
SF: Irvin (20), Robinson (20)
PF: Dawkins (25), Chatman (15)
C: Doyle (28), Wilson (12)
5. If you think WE have a roster glut, check out MSU's wing players - they literally have the following guys for the two and three positions: Valentine, Forbes, Marvin Clark, Bess, Ellis, Eron Harris, McQuaid, and Ahrens. Sure, they can redshirt McQuaid and Ahrens, and maybe Valentine will get some run at the point, but that's still six guys for two positions, and you Eron Harris expects to start from day one. Moreover, they're unlikely to ever go small because in addition to the fact that Izzo doesn't really do that, they have four guys (Costello, Schilling, Davis, Swanigan) for the PF/C positions.
