Michigan State Basketball: Player grades from tough win over Minnesota

Bench

It was a rough game, production-wise, from the bench as there was little to no scoring from this group and Kyle Ahrens’ absence may have played a role in that.

Thomas Kithier: C+

Surprisingly, Thomas Kithier earned the most minutes off the bench with Ahrens out. He finished with just a single point and two rebounds and continues to show good court vision and ability to run for a big man. Unfortunately, he has the foul bug and gets whistled at least two times every time he’s out there. He also didn’t attempt a single shot for the second straight games which can’t become a trend.

Rocket Watts: C

Simply put, this was a bad game for Rocket Watts. He struggled mightily against Minnesota, scoring two points with two assists but he had three turnovers and a foul. He shot just 1-for-5 from the floor but he has to learn to pump-fake without traveling. He has plenty of potential off the bench and could be the missing piece to the puzzle, but Thursday was rough.

Malik Hall: B-

It seems like every time Malik Hall comes into the game, he gets whistled for a foul. On Thursday, he didn’t have any which was a nice surprise. He had two points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal to round out his line and was relatively productive in his 11 minutes.

Julius Marble: B-

Julius Marble had three fouls, but made up for that with four rebounds and two points on one shot attempt. He looks like a guy who could come off the bench and contribute valuable minutes in the post, but he did get beat relatively egregiously by Daniel Oturu on one occasion.

Foster Loyer: C+

It was surprising to see Foster Loyer get just five minutes again and most of them came in the first half. He even helped to piece together a 5-0 run with Cassius Winston on the bench to take a 16-13 lead. He hit a nice 3-pointer from the corner but that was about it from him all game.