Hoops Thoughts: I watched Malik Newman tonight in Corinth and just got finished....

[HoopsDawg]

watching our game.

1. Daniels reminds me of Tang Hamilton. Long, athletic player with good range. He's not great off the bounce, but it's nice to have another player, along with Fred, who can knock down shots.

2. Uh, Rick Ray can coach. We played man, zone, press, and half-court trap and we looked fundamentally sound in every look. Good ball movement on offense and excellent movement away from the ball. Our shot selection was very good. If he can continue to upgrade the roster, we will be an NCAAT team soon.

3. Ray did a very good job with his rotations tonight, but I do not like Ready and Bloodman in the backcourt together at the same time.

4. Thomas/Daniels/Houston are all really best at the 3 spot so it will be interesting how we get these guys minutes. Thomas can play the 2, but we have to work Sword back in as well. Roq has looked great at the 4 so far, but it's going to be a different story when we play teams with size. Too bad we don't have a legit PF.

5. Speaking of PF, Black can help at the 4 spot. Black's offensive game is limited but he can defend and rebound. He also made some nice passes. He's got a lot of energy and athleticism. He needs to settle into a Dennis Rodman role.

6. Ware and Thomas have gotten better every year. Ware's face up game is a real weapon now. Thomas's shot looked great and he is an excellent defender.

7. I don't think there's going to be many minutes for Dunlap.

Malik Newman: What a player!! Doesn't talk much, just balls out. No weaknesses. Great range, great handle, attacks the rim and can finish. Good passer. Great mentality. I mean this kid is the best player I have ever seen at the high school level. Scored 32 tonight against a really good team from Louisiana and it was easy. He can create his own shot and he doesn't need much space to just pull up and drain a 3. Man, it would be fun to watch him play 1 year at MSU.

[thf24]

Good stuff, agreed on all points. Where do you think Malik would play? From what I've seen of him I like him at the 2, but unless Sword really establishes himself as a true point guard this year, assuming that's the plan, Malik might have to play the point to start our best five.

[Coach34]

I've been telling people for 2 years Ray can coach. Like Mullen...Like Cohen...he is a developmental coach. Support this guy and the program- we need a homecourt advantage and we will be rewarded. This is an NIT team this year

[HoopsDawg]

Good stuff, agreed on all points. Where do you think Malik would play? From what I've seen of him I like him at the 2, but unless Sword really establishes himself as a true point guard this year, assuming that's the plan, Malik might have to play the point to start our best five.

Malik could play the point, but he's definitely best at the 2. I would love for Sword to be able to play the point, but I just don't know. We seem to run smoother with Ready or Bloodman at the point. We'll just have to see how Sword looks after he plays himself back into game shape.

[msstate7]

Malik could play the point, but he's definitely best at the 2. I would love for Sword to be able to play the point, but I just don't know. We seem to run smoother with Ready or Bloodman at the point. We'll just have to see how Sword looks after he plays himself back into game shape.

Speaking of ready... He really looked better tonight. I hope he's getting close to being 100%

[Political Hack]

Sword is a 3 in a 3-guard front. We need Ready, Malik, and Sword at 1, 2, and 3. That's an SEC line up if we have a legit 4 and 5 combo, which we will with Zuppardo and Ware. That, with Bloodman, Fred, Daniels, Black, Dunlap, and Endo coming off the bench would be a pretty sick line up. I really like Dunlap too.

[Smitty]

Somebody compare FTF to Winsome Frazier for me.. Similarities/differences... Are they that far apart just as a reference..

[DudyDawg]

Agree w all except for the off the ball movement. We had a few small droughts, and have had them in all games, due to stagnant offense. We don't get into our motion as often or quick as we should when ray doesn't call a play, and it causes us to sit there waiting for someone to get open by themselves. We need to work on our continuity motion and 4 out one in movement that isn't a play, just a pass and screen away and cut offense that we run. That continuity in the motion will come as the season goes on. Other than that, no complaints tonight. Our defense is going to be very good all year with athletes at pretty much ever position

[msstate7]

With a win tonight, we may be ranked. Chew on that

[Political Hack]

Somebody compare FTF to Winsome Frazier for me.. Similarities/differences... Are they that far apart just as a reference..

I think it's a fair comparison from their strengths and weaknesses (good shooter, great D, can't dribble to save their life), but they are different types of players. Frazier had more hops and was a better rebounder IMO. FTF has more length which will help him with taller perimeter guys.

[Brad Stevens]

watching our game.

1. Daniels reminds me of Tang Hamilton. Long, athletic player with good range. He's not great off the bounce, but it's nice to have another player, along with Fred, who can knock down shots.

2. Uh, Rick Ray can coach. We played man, zone, press, and half-court trap and we looked fundamentally sound in every look. Good ball movement on offense and excellent movement away from the ball. Our shot selection was very good. If he can continue to upgrade the roster, we will be an NCAAT team soon.

3. Ray did a very good job with his rotations tonight, but I do not like Ready and Bloodman in the backcourt together at the same time.

4. Thomas/Daniels/Houston are all really best at the 3 spot so it will be interesting how we get these guys minutes. Thomas can play the 2, but we have to work Sword back in as well. Roq has looked great at the 4 so far, but it's going to be a different story when we play teams with size. Too bad we don't have a legit PF.

5. Speaking of PF, Black can help at the 4 spot. Black's offensive game is limited but he can defend and rebound. He also made some nice passes. He's got a lot of energy and athleticism. He needs to settle into a Dennis Rodman role.

6. Ware and Thomas have gotten better every year. Ware's face up game is a real weapon now. Thomas's shot looked great and he is an excellent defender.

7. I don't think there's going to be many minutes for Dunlap.

Malik Newman: What a player!! Doesn't talk much, just balls out. No weaknesses. Great range, great handle, attacks the rim and can finish. Good passer. Great mentality. I mean this kid is the best player I have ever seen at the high school level. Scored 32 tonight against a really good team from Louisiana and it was easy. He can create his own shot and he doesn't need much space to just pull up and drain a 3. Man, it would be fun to watch him play 1 year at MSU.

Agree with most all this - especially number 3. I really see no reason to have Bloodman and Ready on the court again unless we need free throw shooters late in a game.

[TheDogFather]

This is an NIT team this year

Nice. I've been wondering how long it would take us to get back to the NIT**

[Brad Stevens]

Sword is a 3 in a 3-guard front. We need Ready, Malik, and Sword at 1, 2, and 3. That's an SEC line up if we have a legit 4 and 5 combo, which we will with Zuppardo and Ware. That, with Bloodman, Fred, Daniels, Black, Dunlap, and Endo coming off the bench would be a pretty sick line up. I really like Dunlap too.

Yes, Sword is naturally a slasher. And yes, Ready is the more natural point guard. But there is NO WAY we sit Thomas and Daniels in favor of Ready and an ACL-repaired Zuppardo. If all stay healthy and Malik comes, I see us starting Sword/Malik/Thomas as guards and an athletic 4 in Daniels with Ware at 5. That's a long, formidable starting 5.

[MetEdDawg]

I've been telling people for 2 years Ray can coach. Like Mullen...Like Cohen...he is a developmental coach. Support this guy and the program- we need a homecourt advantage and we will be rewarded. This is an NIT team this year

I was on this train early with you. I thought it was evident he could coach from year 1. This was one of those things that I don't think we could accurately evaluate until year 3 because of the roster struggles. Everyone wants instant gratification. Sometimes you have to wait and be objective about how truly bad your situation is, and that can be hard when talking about YOUR school and YOUR university to admit how bad things are and how long they might take to turn around.

As we can see now, Ray can recruit and he can develop talent. Now can he take that next step with this team and get us to the postseason? Get a win today against TCU and we are 6-0 with a very real shot at going 12-1 or 13-0 in nonconference. That would be a huge step forward for us.

[Schultzy]

Daniels is a player, Black is good too. I don't think I've ever pulled for a coach to succeed as much as Ray.

Recruiting is going well, and Malik has some reasons to believe we can win.

[rabbitthedawg]

I must admit, team looked really good!

[Percho]

what time is today's game

[msstate7]

what time is today's game

6 central

[Coach34]

I think it's a fair comparison from their strengths and weaknesses (good shooter, great D, can't dribble to save their life), but they are different types of players. Frazier had more hops and was a better rebounder IMO. FTF has more length which will help him with taller perimeter guys.

If Fred keeps shooting the ball well- he will be a better shooter than Frazier ever was. Winsome was streaky but never shot well overall

[maroonmania]

Speaking of Malik, if he really intends to only play CBB for one year then we will certainly be a great option for him. If you put him with Ware, Thomas and Sword as Seniors along with the other supporting cast we have that should be a heck of an MSU team. It would actually be Newman's sophomore year that there might be a slight dip.