OT: Sparty busts a move to get point guard.
As a Crusader fan since I am a growed up valpo kid, I was saddened by this turn of events.
According to my local Indiana paper (and a detroit news article), Izzo has tabbed Brandon Wood from Valpo U to fill the void at point. Wood already graduated from Valpo so academically MSU should be either a breeze or non-issue in his one season of eligibility.
The articles mention Wood has overcome one knee injury, averaged 16.7 points at Valpo last year, and considered entering the draft or a transfer to TENN. He was not interested in finishing his career at Valpo because he is looking for a bigger stage.
Good luck filling Lucus shoes. Reeks of desperation but probably does at least help Sparty circle the wagons next year. THoughts?
Look at Sparty's roster for next year (subtracting this year's seniors):
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/roster/_/id/127/sort/ex…
There's only one guy remotely like Wood on the roster (Keith Appling), so the timing would seem to be favorable. (In the parallel universe where Korie Lucious was still around, the set-up might be more awkward.) He can step in for a year and fill a gap without messing up any chemistry.
I'd stop short of calling it desperation. Appling is a good player and some combination of Draymond Green (who handles the ball often) and the three incoming guards would probably work well enough for the other spot.
*****
If I were a Spartan fan, I'd still be wondering what went wrong last year. Lucas was probably no more than 80% of his real self (and may never be again) because of the injury, but WTF happened to Summers? In the frontcourt, Sherman (who just transferred) and Nix look like recruiting errors. Payne has been really underwhelming so far, too, despite his obvious physical ability.
I wonder if Izzo's routine (endless screaming and grimacing) is getting old, too. Compare his on-court demeanor to Beilein's. Who would you rather have as your coach?
The move makes sense. I checked their incoming recruits and they have will have two freshmen gaurds as well. The point gaurd Trice is a 3 star and is listed at 5'11, so they do not appear to be blessed with a true star at point as is usually the case--knock wood. Ugh. In any case I think we have a good shot at running off a few more wins against them next year even with Morris bolting.
that he started as a screamer and, as he has mellowed, has not always been as effective. I absolutely agree that the guy who exercises quiet authority is my choice for a coach (see John Wooden).
Also, banging and bringing you lunch pail do not get you wins against the best teams--only to bully 3/4 of teams. We may finally be seeing the B10 move away a little from that stylee.
Stray bonus thought: Bobby Knight just kept on screaming, turned into a caricature of himself. He was also a fracking x/o genius in a way that I don't think Izzo iz.
Easy: Tom Izzo's Cavalier Indulgence removed the illusion of "Spartan for Life" from the eyes of his team. Consequently, they tuned him out. This made Izzo unable to get that "extra" five percent of effort out of his team that is the difference between winning a lot of close games and losing a lot of close games.
I truly expected to see Izzo leave for the NBA this offseason, but the labor situation may affect coaching hires as well as player movement. It sure would be hilarious if he ended up in Detroit, though.
how this kid gets to play right away, they didn't explain it all that well on the radio... i wonder how well he does this year, the talent in the BIG is a lot better then what he was facing while playing at valpo... does anyone know what his offers were before he choose valpo???
Howeva, he is a journeyman out of one of the Kokomo IN High Schools who went to SIU first then transferred to Highland CC and then transferred to Valpo. This explains him graduating from Valpo in what seemingly was the end of this Jr year and his comfort level with the process of transferring--probably not a big recruit out of HS.
*Appears to be a true gym rat based on this bio info too.
The guy dropped 30 on UNC, 24 on MSU (played against them at Breslin), and 20+ on Purdue twice. He's a proven scorer with a lot of experience.
The only other guard with any experience is Keith Appling, who is a sophomore (Kearney, Trice, and Anderson are coming in, but I think one or two of them will redshirt). MSU expected to have Korie Lucious this year, but Izzo kicked him off the team.
Brandon Wood will most likely start at the point with Keith Appling as SG.
here and there against top schools, isn't that unusual for players at smaller schools... but to do it night in and night out against far better competion is competely different...
that's one helluva good start on impressing me.
That if you graduate from a school and they do not offer the post graduate work you looking to get into then you may transfer to another school without having to sit out.
Stu Douglass advises Izzo to think a little more before employing hail mary one year solutions to his diminishing returns in recruiting.
Stu Douglass advises double post.
Kid is actually a pretty good ball player to be honest....this is no where near desperation for Izzo.
It's a good fill that allows guys like Kearney to redshirt and build up the muscle he truly truly needs.
He should help the other young guys get acclimated to the college game without having a lot of pressure on them. Like someone said it was like Masoli playin at Ole Miss last year and allowing their young guys another year to get stronger and learn more from a guy who at least played very well at the highest level.
Did Young MC recruit this kid, after Izzo hired him to replace Mark Montgomery?
And thought this was about a Sparty busting out of jail by attacking a guard. That's usually what these threads are about anyways.
Can we please adjust the thread title to read "point guard"? Not to nitpick or anything... I do appreciate the info.
This is definitely a positive for them. It will help them transition their recruits. With that said, I'm not sure if he'll really be a "key" player.
This is what East Lansing needs after losing Kalin Lucas, a proven scorer that put's up 20+ points against High majors such as UNC and MSU. His highlight video shows this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbuB5Z376io
Since D-Mo is officially gone. Does anyone know of other possible transfers (like Wood) we could pick up, or a foreign player like Patrick Heckmann from Germany, or are we banking it for the next class?
I actually work for a Men's Basketball program in the Horizon League and can honestly say Brandon Wood will help MSU out a lot next year. The normal College Basketball fan would see Butler's success in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons and be very impressed with Shelvin Mack....Mack was voted second team all-league this year behind Norris Cole from Cleveland State and Brandon Wood from Valpo.
He's a good scoring guard who originally transferred from Southern Illinois. He completed his degree so thru the loop hole in the NCAA transfer policy he's able to leave Valpo and go to another school to pursue a graduate degree. I want to say that's what happened with us and Ryan Mundy (West Virginia).
Feel bad for the Valpo fans and coaching staff...That entire program is absolutely pure class, Homer Drew is the nicest guy in the business. Hope this was informative.