Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from exhibition win vs. Ferris State

1. Max Christie might be better than advertised

Yes, Max Christie was the No. 1 shooting guard in the 2021 recruiting class and yes, Tom Izzo has had high praise for his star freshman, but even so, he was better than expected right away.

I think everyone expected Christie to be eased into a large role. We knew he was going to start, but it looks like he’s taking on a primary scoring role. Gabe Brown and Christie went back-and-forth all night on Wednesday as Michigan State’s leading scorer.

Christie finished the night just behind Brown with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting and looked like the real deal. He wasn’t afraid to drive and score around the rim and he also had a confident jumper in his back pocket. He was strong on the defensive end of the floor, ran the fast break well, looked comfortable with the ball in his hands, and he was also a little more filled out than people expected.

When Christie committed to Michigan State, he was a lanky 6-foot-6, 165-pound shooting guard but he has put on some healthy weight and looks like he can hang at the college level, and then some.

Christie can be dominant.

It looks like he may already be Michigan State’s best player and the Spartans have to feel good having a couple of go-to guys in Brown and Christie.