Final Rivals 150 2014- Zak Irvin gets Fifth Star
Zak Irvin moves up to 24th Overall and receives his 5th star...
Also, Derrick Walton moves up to 37th Overall
Donnal fell to 111th overall but remains a 4 Star prospect...
Another great example of Coach B identifying truly elite talent at very early stages of recruitment....
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/rankings/rank-2752
But for people who followed Big Ten basketball in the '70s/'80s/'90s, that makes perfect sense.
I tend to agree with the potential NBA talent. He could be a star. He is a better ball handler and defender than THJ and has much better perimeter skills than GRIII. He has a game similar to a less physical Joe Johnson as he loves to shoot off of the pass and has a pretty nice pull up game. He is closer to 6'6 than 6'8 and although more physical than Stauskas, he is not suited to play the 4.
I think fans will fall in love with him because of his personality. It is Denard like where he smiles a ton and isn't much of a trash talker. He is a great teammate and an even better opponent. His teammates all seemed to love playing with him. I believe that in Michigan's system, he has the ability to be a one and done type player. Even if THJ stays, I think he should be a starter.
How's his midrange jumper? In the highlights it seems like he has the best midrange game out of any recruit Beilein has gotten since he started coaching here which I think it's really impressive. It seems like guys as athletic as him who can get to the rim at will neglect that part of their game until they get to the pros... and by then it's usually too late.
April 15th, 2013 at 10:41 PM ^
He can hit any shot on the court. He doesn't over dribble to create his offense either. As soon as he is open he pulls up. I tend to agree with you on the best midrange game out of any recruit Beilein has had, although Burke had very good midrange game as well.
You said guys as athletic as him don't work on that part of their game. In my opinion, he doesn't have GRIII athleticism. He is closer to, but maybe not even THJ athleticism. But he is much longer and that helps his game on both ends of the floor.
Taking a look at B1G schools on the list, what gives with MSU? I know they put a lot of eggs in the Jabari Parker basket, but they have one commit. A 3*. Michigan and IU are killing it though.
MSU has a good chance of returning everybody except Nix, and if they do, they will be a top 5 team in the country. Izzo be Izzo.
They also have a good chance of losing Payne and Harris, to go along with Nix. If that happens, I have no idea where their offense will come from.
That could be. Of course, they didn't fare so well last time they were pre-season top 5 and I'm sure they'd want to have at least some measure of depth going forward. Just seems weird for them to be relatively absent from recruiting.
There starting lineup next year will probably be three 5* and two 4*. They aren't as deep as Izzo would like but they are going to be very good.
MSU's 3 recruiting classes prior to signing 3* Gavin Schilling this year:
| 2012 | |||||
| Matt Costello | PF | 6'9" | 225 | 4 stars | |
| Gary Harris | SG | 6'4" | 208 | 5 stars | |
| Kenny Kaminski | PF | 6'7" | 230 | 3 stars | |
| Denzel Valentine | SG | 6'5" | 205 | 4 stars | |
| 2011 | |||||
| Dwaun Anderson | SG | 6'3" | 170 | 4 stars | |
| Branden Dawson | SF | 6'6" | 200 | 5 stars | |
| Brandan Kearney | SF | 6'5" | 175 | 3 stars | |
| Travis Trice | PG | 5'11" | 160 | 3 stars | |
| 2010 | |||||
| Keith Appling | PG | 6'2" | 170 | 4 stars | |
| Russell Byrd | SF | 6'7" | 190 | 3 stars | |
| Alex Gauna | PF | 6'8" | 215 | 3 stars | |
| Adreian Payne | C | 6'10" | 215 | 5 stars |
Again, if Payne and Harris return, MSU will most likely be the favorites to win the Big Ten. However, if both, or really even one of them leave, you are looking at a very average team (in terms of typical Izzo era MSU teams). IMO Payne would be a much bigger loss for MSU than Harris. They really have no one that gives them a legit low post option outside of Payne. If Harris were to leave, they at least have Trice and Appling to fill some of the void. Just my opinion, but UM is in better shape to deal with early departures at this point than MSU.
We shall see, but I don't think there is a "good" chance Payne and Harris leave, just like I don't think GRIII and McGary are leaving.
I would agree that I don't think both will leave (I think Payne will leave, Harris will stay), and I also agree that Robinson and McGary will return. I guess I was more or less speaking to the fact that Beilein has done such a wonderful job building depth.
The quantity there is kinda my point - 4 kids in each class vs. 1 kid in his next class. As for "Izzo be Izzo" (as you mentioned), I'd say that's a guy who gets a lot of 5* recruits and sees them not improve as opposed to JB whose players seem to do nothing but improve.
As for who stays and goes, Miss Cleo would know as well as anyone.
April 15th, 2013 at 10:11 PM ^
They'll be fine... I think all of their 5 stars leading up to their 2008 and 2009 championship game and final four appearances were actually busts.(one of them unfortunately, due to knee issues). TBH MSU hasn't really gotten much out of most of the five stars they've recruited. However, a lot of their lower rated guys have vastly exceded expectations. I think part of the reason is the way the game is played in our conference. The recruiting services rank players based on NBA potential, not Big 10 potential. Bo Ryan seems to be a wizard when it comes to this... he never seems to bust on the highly ranked guys he gets... they literally ALL have productive big 10 careers.
I think we are starting to see the Beilein effect on recruiting rankings. Play it safe and rank kids recruited by Beilein a little on the high side. Coach B can identify talent and players get opportunity to shine in his system.
Don't be so pessimistic. To me it would mean, if there be any credence to my hypothesis, Beilein's eye for talent is being acknowledged.
Except that JB offers late compared to many other programs (and the release of rankings). Whatever the case, it'd be hard to find anyone who thinks JB can't identify (and develop) talent.