Michigan State Basketball: Final report card for 2019 Maui Invitational

Bench

We saw some good and some bad from Malik Hall, Thomas Kithier got his first taste of the bench for the season and Foster Loyer even hit some threes.

Gabe Brown: B

We didn’t see as much slashing Gabe Brown as we have seen to this point in the season, but he made a couple of clutch shots and used his length on defense to cause some problems. He averaged just over seven points per game and shot over 40 percent from the field during the tourney. He needs to do more of his slashing.

Malik Hall: B-

Malik Hall fouled out in just five minutes against Virginia Tech and then again in 16 minutes versus UCLA. He showed promise on offense but until he starts defending without fouling, he’s going to spend a lot of time on the bench with foul trouble. Hall has an advanced offensive game for a freshman, but needs the rest of his game to catch up.

Thomas Kithier: C

It was a quiet week for Thomas Kithier who didn’t start but he still had a solid game against Virginia Tech with eight points and five rebounds, but was relatively silent other than that. It was tough to grade his impact because he didn’t see the court a ton.

Kyle Ahrens: C

Kyle Ahrens didn’t play a whole lot either and he struggled defensively. He shot over 50 percent for the week, but he scored just nine total points. We saw Ahrens’ minutes trimmed down a bit — but he did have a cool drive and dunk versus Georgia.

Foster Loyer: C-

We only saw Foster Loyer for 18 minutes during the tournament and he did hit a couple of 3-pointers against Georgia, but had only one assists and looked out-matched defensively.

Julius Marble: C

Will Julius Marble be able to stay in the rotation? He did play well this week and finished with six points, eight rebounds and a block in 20 minutes. He may have earned some more looks with his play, but for now he seems like the third big man option off the bench.