If IJ Ready sux as bad as most seem to think...

[MCsMGs]

then why does BH continue to play him as much as he does? I'm thinking he(IJ) is doing what coach thinks he should do or he wouldn't be playing as much as he is. For the record, I do think his on ball defense leaves a lot to be desired which I don't understand from someone as quick as he is.
But, I'm not going to question the number of shots he takes because if that wasn't what coach expected of him he would be sitting.

[thf24]

He's obviously playing as much as he does because Howland believes he the best option, but in my opinion the reasons are 1.) Malik is limited in his movement as long as he's got that steel plate in his shoe and is still learning the PG position, and 2.) as good as Q has looked, he's also still learning and isn't a PG anyway. In other words, IJ is getting the minutes he is out of necessity. I wouldn't have a huge problem with IJ though if he'd sometimes look to set up key shots late in games instead of taking them all. He's weak on D, but he's far from the only one.

[mparkerfd20]

....) Malik is limited in his movement as long as he's got that steel plate in his shoe and is still learning the PG position....

How much longer are we going to make excuses for Malik? I want to know so I can get on board, because frankly I'm sick of the excuses already.

[Thick]

I think everyone's forgetting that Malik is learning to play PG in the SEC. He's a 1/2 combo, but most of all, he's a scorer. We need him to score more then anything. IJ would be fine, if he would play within himself, and not try to force things when they are not there.

[MarketingBully]

My biggest complaint with IJ is that he is not playing how we need him to be. He needs to just distribute the ball when he is out there. We don't need him to jack up shots to jack up shots. 15 shots is way too many and we won't win many games at all if he is the guy taking that many shots. We need him to drive and kick out to Q, Malik, or Sword, get the ball to Ware, or set up behind the three point line when Malik or Sword drive and dish out to him for a wide open shot. Ready singlehandedly lost the Southern and UKMC games ball hogging it at the end. I want the McDonakd's All American/lottery pick taking game winning shots not a sub 3 star point guard.

[QuadrupleOption]

How much longer are we going to make excuses for Malik? I want to know so I can get on board, because frankly I'm sick of the excuses already.

From a point production value he's not been too bad:
6, 15, 17, 14, 5, 9, 18

He's been a little hit and miss but he's a freshman. I can't speak to the rest of his game as a PG but I'd say he's been pretty productive scoring.

[thf24]

How much longer are we going to make excuses for Malik? I want to know so I can get on board, because frankly I'm sick of the excuses already.

If one your feet is restricted to remaining flat at all times, you can't run at full speed, you can't jump as high nor as quickly, and you can't cut on that foot. It is literally restricting him from using his athleticism. If it were simply playing through a painful lingering injury it would be a different story, but there is a physical barrier preventing him from using all of his tools. Granted we've heard a few times that he's "finally healthy" the past few weeks, and for all I know, the plate may already be out and he's not as advertised. But there's been no confirmation of that, and as long as he has to play with it, he gets a pass.

[maroonmania]

If one your feet is restricted to remaining flat at all times, you can't run at full speed, you can't jump as high nor as quickly, and you can't cut on that foot. It is literally restricting him from using his athleticism. If it were simply playing through a painful lingering injury it would be a different story, but there is a physical barrier preventing him from using all of his tools. Granted we've heard a few times that he's "finally healthy" the past few weeks, and for all I know, the plate may already be out and he's not as advertised. But there's been no confirmation of that, and as long as he has to play with it, he gets a pass.

Just the fortune of MSU I guess in that we are probably only going to get one year of Malik and the majority of it will be spent injured in a steel shoe where he might be playing at 70-80% at best.

[lachepas565]

He's not as bad as people make out on here. He's shooting 55% from 2. He has an 11 assist game. He has 2 games were he didn't take care of the ball, but kept his turnovers under 2 in ever other game. He's also creating a few steals.

I can't call him good because nothing on this team seems good right now. He probably needs to quit taking 3's (shooting 22%) and work on cutting down the turnovers, but he's far from the biggest problem.

[HancockCountyDog]

I must be the only MSU fan that has completely written off this season and simply watches highlight videos of our commits. I know most of the team we have, won't be coming back and Howland is bringing in kids that can play, and the current kids simply don't know how to win.

[thf24]

Just the fortune of MSU I guess in that we are probably only going to get one year of Malik and the majority of it will be spent injured in a steel shoe where he might be playing at 70-80% at best.

If he's indeed "finally healthy" as Bob has mentioned a few times, I'd like to think it'll be coming off soon. Or as I said, it may already be off and he's just that far behind the curve, but it seems pretty obvious to me he's still restricted in his movements. And he's still producing fairly well despite it as others have pointed out.

[Political Hack]

It's his defense. He's a huge asset on O.

[MCsMGs]

My biggest complaint with IJ is that he is not playing how we need him to be. He needs to just distribute the ball when he is out there. We don't need him to jack up shots to jack up shots. 15 shots is way too many and we won't win many games at all if he is the guy taking that many shots. We need him to drive and kick out to Q, Malik, or Sword, get the ball to Ware, or set up behind the three point line when Malik or Sword drive and dish out to him for a wide open shot. Ready singlehandedly lost the Southern and UKMC games ball hogging it at the end. I want the McDonakd's All American/lottery pick taking game winning shots not a sub 3 star point guard.

So, do you take the position that you know better than Howland how we need him to be playing?

For the record, it was Q that missed a three with 24 ticks on the clock that would have put us ahead in the UMKC game. We had no choice but to foul them on every possession after that.

[maroonmania]

I must be the only MSU fan that has completely written off this season and simply watches highlight videos of our commits. I know most of the team we have, won't be coming back and Howland is bringing in kids that can play, and the current kids simply don't know how to win.

I'll keep watching just because its basketball season but yes, the season is a loss at this point and can be written off. We've dug ourselves way too deep a hole to get to any post-season at this point. And you are also correct that individual players improving through the season doesn't mean much when almost all of the roster is gone next year.

[Political Hack]

So, do you take the position that you know better than Howland how we need him to be playing?

For the record, it was Q that missed a three with 24 ticks on the clock that would have put us ahead in the UMKC game. We had no choice but to foul them on every possession after that.

I agree with your premise, but it bothers me when people point out one play late in a game that "lost" it. It's never the first play and it's rarely the last that decides a game. You've got 100 chances to win it between those plays. One made 3 earlier in the game, better free throw shooting, one more lose ball recovered, one less stupid foul, one more steal, one less offensive rebound for them, etc... there's a lot of chances to win games before 24 seconds left and you desperately need a score, especially against the blind sisters university.

Same with baseball. People remember the last inning and forget the other 8 where a team blew opportunities.

[MCsMGs]

I agree with your premise, but it bothers me when people point out one play late in a game that "lost" it. It's never the first play and it's rarely the last that decides a game. You've got 100 chances to win it between those plays. One made 3 earlier in the game, better free throw shooting, one more lose ball recovered, one less stupid foul, one more steal, one less offensive rebound for them, etc... there's a lot of chances to win games before 24 seconds left and you desperately need a score, especially against the blind sisters university.

Same with baseball. People remember the last inning and forget the other 8 where a team blew opportunities.

I didn't mean to imply that Q lost that game. My point was that it wasn't IJ that jacked a three at the end of the game. You are absolutely correct that no one play or player is responsible for the outcome of any game.

[Coach34]

Howland is not doing a very good job of coaching this basketball team. Granted- there is a divide and alot of guys in their last year- but this team should be better than its record. Say what you want- but our talent is better than Southern U's and Mizzou KC. Thats on Howland

As a few of us have said- Newman is not an automatic one and done. His injury has probably helped that. We'll see how much he grows as a basketball player in January- but the lottery is far from happening at this point. Him returning for a 2nd year to play with Q in the backcourt would be huge for next year's team. Then he can play his way into the lottery as well as be developed enough physically.

[Dawg61]

How did BH watch IJ and decide he was better than keeping Tookie?

[MCsMGs]

How did BH watch IJ and decide he was better than keeping Tookie?

How do you know that keeping IJ over Tookie was BH's decision? Tookie was recruited by RR and I have never seen where BH ran off Tookie.

[mparkerfd20]

I must be the only MSU fan that has completely written off this season and simply watches highlight videos of our commits. I know most of the team we have, won't be coming back and Howland is bringing in kids that can play, and the current kids simply don't know how to win.

No, you're not the only one.