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Michigan State Basketball: Breaking down the 2016-17 frontcourt

By Andrew Erdman

Jan 31, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Gavin Schilling (34) brings the ball up court against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half of a game at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Gavin Schilling (34) brings the ball up court against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half of a game at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State basketball will enter the 2016-17 season with a thin frontcourt, but how does it look?

The Spartans lost a lot of talent, leadership, and height from last year’s team and this isn’t breaking news to anyone. This year’s Michigan State basketball team is going to look a lot different than the typical Tom Izzo-coached squad. This team is deep, especially at the wing positions, but very thin in the frontcourt.

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In fact, Gavin Schilling is the lone returning significant contributor in the frontcourt. The 6-foot-9 senior from Chicago has improved over his first three seasons in East Lansing. His free throw percentage has increased and his back to the basket game has improved, but he needs to stay out of foul trouble.

The Spartans are thin in the frontcourt with only three true power forwards/centers on the roster in redshirt sophomore Kenny Goins and the true freshman Nick Ward joining Schilling.

Miles Bridges

Touted freshman Miles Bridges will more than likely start at the four, but really isn’t a true power forward. At 6-foot-7, Bridges is more of a small forward and will play on the wing on offense but will be asked to play inside on defense and guard a guy who is taller and bigger than Bridges is and this could pose a problem for Izzo and the Spartans.

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If both Bridges and Schilling get into foul trouble early in the game, Michigan State will be down to only two forwards.

Bridges is a freak of an athlete. We’ve all seen videos of his ridiculous dunks, but that’s not all he can do. He can shoot the ball from the outside and he is an above average shot-blocker. He poses a matchup problem on the offensive end of the court.

Opposing teams are going to have their starting power forwards attempt to cover Bridges — good luck with that. Bridges can handle the ball and get to the basket and jump like nobody I’ve seen at MSU. I don’t think a typical 6-foot-9 power forward will be able to slow down Bridges.

Nick Ward

Freshman Nick Ward is going to see significant minutes this season because of the thin front court. At 6-foot-9, 235 pounds, Ward is a beast of man. In his press conference today at Big Ten Media Day, Izzo said that Ward was “better than he was in high school” at this point. Typically this does not happen for freshman coming into college.

Usually the freshmen have a major learning curve and typically have to adjust to the speed of the game and the better competition. At the same time, Izzo has never had a freshman class like he has this year.

All four freshman coming in were ranked in the top 50 nationally. That was good enough for the third-ranked recruiting class in the country only behind Duke and Kentucky.

Much like Deyonta Davis last season, Ward is a guy who is ready to play and contribute right away for Michigan State, and that is going to be much needed. Ward is not going to average a double-double this season, but do not be surprised if he has multiple games with 10-plus rebounds this season.

Kenny Goins

Jan 2, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Gophers forward Jordan Murphy (3) dribbles in the first half against the Michigan State Spartans forward Kenny Goins (25) at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Gophers forward Jordan Murphy (3) dribbles in the first half against the Michigan State Spartans forward Kenny Goins (25) at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

Kenny Goins is a guy that nobody knew anything about last season. All we knew is that he was a redshirt freshman from Detroit. No one knew if he would contribute to the team or even play, but he did. He was, however, a pleasant surprise last season.

Standing 6-foot-6, he’s undersized to play the four, much like Draymond Green, but he has the strength to guard that position. Goins came off the bench last season and provided toughness down low. He wasn’t afraid to do the dirty work, which Izzo loves, and grab rebounds amongst the trees. Goins is coming off a knee injury that he suffered last season and is expected to play significant minutes this season.

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The key for this team is going to be the play and production of the front court. They have to stay out of foul trouble but at the same time be physical. They are young and very talented, but how that talent translates to the court is yet to be seen.

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