Michigan State Basketball: Tom Izzo has fewer questions for 2017-18 season
By Adam Zdroik
After struggling to lock down a consistent starting lineup all last season for Michigan State basketball, Tom Izzo should have a much easier time selecting his five for the 2017-18 campaign.
The common refrain for Michigan State basketball this season is that the team is a bit more experienced and a bit bigger, which should lead to more success along with an NBA-ready Miles Bridges leading the way. That all may be true, but maybe most important is that Tom Izzo should already have a good idea of what his starting lineup will look like, at least four of the players.
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Last season, there were lineup questions almost the entire way and Izzo was even getting asked about who would start in the NCAA tournament. Sure, Tum Tum Nairn and Alvin Ellis III finished as starters, but both Cassius Winston and Matt McQuaid played more minutes at those positions, respectively.
Getting deeper into the numbers, Izzo used five different starting lineups in the first two months of the season and eight through the first three months. It wasn’t until the end of February that he decided on a starting five that would remain the same the rest of the way.
Looking back at the 2016-17 season, it’s hard to believe that Winston and Joshua Langford rarely hit 20 minutes in the first month, while Nairn was in the high 20s and reached 30 minutes multiple times. It took two months for Izzo to realize that Winston was much better offensively than Nairn and that playing Langford more than McQuaid was a better idea in general.
Izzo doesn’t have to wait two months to answer those questions this season. Cassius Winston is his starting point guard even if Nairn is a senior. There’s been talk about the two playing together and while that may happen, Nairn will still come off the bench and be more of a defensive specialist. Winston’s 26 points in the exhibition against Ferris State highlighted that.
Joshua Langford is the starting shooting guard even if McQuaid gets praised by Izzo in every press conference. Against smaller teams (Ferris State), Izzo will still have McQuaid come off the bench to give the second unit some guards.
Miles Bridges is the starting small forward. While he may switch between the three and four spot, he’ll start as a three mostly because the Spartans are a much bigger team this season.
Nick Ward is the starting center. Ward was another player that it took Izzo a couple months to realize his potential. There are zero situations in which Ward won’t be in the starting lineup this season.
The starter at power forward is the biggest question, but also shouldn’t be one that greatly affects outcomes for the team. No matter what, Jaren Jackson Jr. will get minutes and is the favorite to open the season. Kenny Goins got the call against Ferris State, but that didn’t turn out great for him. Goins finished with a +/- of minus-16 in 12 minutes, while Jackson had a plus-22 in 21 minutes with eight blocks.
If everything goes well in the first month of the season, Jackson should start the entire way. Keep in mind, this is a freshman that was recently ranked as the 31st-best player in college basketball by NBC Sports’s College Basketball Talk. Conveniently, Ward is No. 37 on the list followed by every MSU fan’s favorite player, Moritz Wagner (Bridges was yet to be ranked at time of writing).
There’s a chance Gavin Schilling starts at some point through the season if Jackson struggles to adjust to the college game, but that’s a stretch. Jackson presents a higher upside, while Schilling gives experience to the bench group with Goins, Ben Carter and Xavier Tillman. Oh, and Kyle Ahrens.
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If all goes well, Izzo will use just one starting lineup all season and lead the team to a national title. Easier said than done, but at least it’s a much better situation with fewer questions entering the season for Spartan basketball.