Michigan State Basketball: Julius Marble already exceeding expectations

Although no one expected him to be much of a contributor early on, Michigan State basketball could get a big bump from Julius Marble as a freshman.

Julius Marble came to Michigan State the same way Nick Ward did. Although Ward was a four-star big man and ranked in the top-50 nationally, he was the least-heralded of the entire 2016 recruiting class, but he exceeded expectations from day one.

Marble could soon be on that same upward trajectory with potentially even a higher ceiling.

During the Moneyball Pro-Am on Tuesday night, Marble and sophomore Aaron Henry stole the show and beat Cassius Winston’s team. Marble put up a game-high 39 points to go along with 13 rebounds and he was scoring from just about everywhere — mid-range jumpers, inside scoring and 3-point makes.

That’s not too shabby for a kid who was ranked the No. 213 player in the 2019 recruiting class and 40th-best power forward.

Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal raved about the incoming freshman big man from Texas after his Moneyball performance on Tuesday night.

"But if Julius Marble is truly the 213th-best incoming freshman in college basketball, as he’s ranked by 247 Sports, holy smokes, we’re about to witness perhaps the greatest college hoops freshman class of all-time. Because Marble can play. In the Big Ten. Right now."

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t see Marble contributing much as a freshman and even looking at a possible redshirt. But after Tuesday night, it looks like he’s going to be much more than that.

Moneyball stats need to be taken with a grain of salt because the defense isn’t exactly lockdown and it’s not an ideal game scenario, but Marble’s skillset was on full display and it ranges wider than expected.

And he can pass, too.

There were other plays like his 3-point makes that had fans oohing and aahing. He stole the headlines on a night when it was expected to be the Cassius Winston show.

Marble no longer looks like an end-of-bench guy, but rather a regular rotational piece who can help ease the pain of losing Ward — right away.