Michigan State basketball: Nick Ward, Xavier Tillman will be twin towers

Shifting gears from football to Michigan State basketball, we take a closer look at the twin towers in the frontcourt: Nick Ward and Xavier Tillman.

After Michigan State’s loss to Arizona State, the sentiment surrounding Spartan fanhood is reminiscent of yesteryear. Before the Dantonio era, it was an annual East Lansing tradition to build hype for the football season calling it “the year,” then quickly recognize the hype as overblown, and finally, jump off the football bandwagon and onto that of the more reliable basketball program.

Must Read: MSU football: 5 takeaways from heartbreaking loss to Arizona State

The loss exposed glaring concerns for the Spartans, and there was plenty of blame to go around – as much as any on whoever scheduled the early-September, middle-of-the-night game to play in blistering heat with three-hour jet lag. But the team did show positive signs, so perhaps the team can put things together by Big Ten season.

Regardless, basketball season is creeping closer, now less than two months away from the opening game tipoff versus Kansas on Nov. 6. So, for tradition’s sake, shift gears for a moment from football to basketball, and consider nuances from the team’s returning frontcourt.

Spartan fans were understandably excited to learn of Nick Ward’s offseason decision to return to Michigan State for his junior season.

Ward’s decision will likely result in more wins, and wins are generally more fun to watch than losses, but opposing coaches will grittily seek to kill the team’s entertainment-value by constantly and unapologetically double teaming the ultra-proficient big man.

So, a skill Ward must develop for the team to approach its potential is passing out of the double team.

Last season, upon Ward touching the ball, a defending guard would flee his man and attempt sandwich him, after which Ward would pick up his dribble, became trapped, and struggle to find a teammate. By the time he did, if he hadn’t turned the ball over, the offense was out of sync and needed to reset without time to execute another offensive set.

After losing two NBA lottery picks, Ward may be the primary focal point of the offense, and defensive focus on him will intensify. To an extent, effectively handling double teams is a natural, less teachable skill. But Ward must improve his court vision, or the abovementioned scenario will become a pattern.

If Ward can learn to anticipate double teams to find open shooters, hit cutters for layups, and even score in the face of both defenders, the offense will continue to flow. And Ward’s ability to force double teams will benefit the offense.

If fellow big man Xavier Tillman can become a legitimate scoring threat, his contribution could be pivotal to the team’s success. But Tillman is not the scorer Ward is, at least not yet. And if Ward can stay on the court this season, he won’t need to be.

A skill less spoken of, but one that reflects on the scoreboard and win column, is the ability to set forceful, well-timed, well-positioned screens.

Tillman showcased his elite screen-setting ability against UConn. While Cassius Winston took over the second half and scored 28 points, an underpinning reason was Tillman’s effective screen setting on Winston’s defenders. The two showed tremendous chemistry creating space for Winston on high ball screens, and the crafty point guard showed the magic he can produce with that space.

Tillman will be doing a lot of things – challenging shots, rebounding, chasing loose balls and making put backs. The team can’t overvalue his toughness. If Tillman can continue to set effective ball screens for Winston and off-ball screens for shooters, his influence will be tremendous, even when it doesn’t reflect as prominently on the scoresheet.