Michigan State dominated Quinnipiac from start to finish on Monday night to open the season, 96-59, and the Spartans played about as well as you could ask.
The team’s scoring was extremely balanced with six guys scoring in double figures and they shot 58 percent from the floor and 39 percent from deep while holding the Bobcats to 36 percent from the floor and 6-for-21 from three.
Tom Izzo’s team definitely earned a passing grade to open the year. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come with Duke on the horizon.
Note: Players in order by minutes played.
Jeremy Fears Jr. — B+
This wasn’t Jeremy Fears’ best game, but it didn’t need to be. He played well enough to build a huge lead and then played smart enough to maintain it. Fears had three turnovers but he still dished 11 assists and scored a team-high 13 points. He played well and if this is his B+ effort, just imagine how good he’s going to be when it’s an A. If his name wasn’t Jeremy Fears, he probably would’ve gotten an A. He set the bar pretty high for himself.
Coen Carr — A-
There weren’t many bad things to say about Coen Carr on Monday night other than the fact that he was a little too passive at times. He needs to put the ball on the floor and score using his elite athleticism to get to the rim. He finished with 12 points and eight rebounds but I was more impressed with him on the defensive end with a steal and a really nice block.
Jasiah Jervis — C
A couple of freshmen had quiet debuts and one of them was Jasiah Jervis who was the star on offense during the preseason. He scored just four points in 1-for-6 shooting with three rebounds and a steal so he wasn’t bad, but this was far from his A or B-game.
Jordan Scott — A
This would have probably been the easiest A of all time if Jordan Scott didn’t shoot just 1-for-5 from the deep — is what I would have said if I didn’t change my mind after re-watching the game.. He was really, really good, scoring 11 points with six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. He did everything really well. Scott is a future pro.
Anton Bonke — A-
We saw a much better version of Anton Bonke on Monday night and boy was that a sight for sore eyes. The center position was hotly debated after the Marquette and UConn losses and Bonke’s lackluster play was sounding some alarm bells. He looked like a completely different and more aggressive player against Quinnipiac. He scored 11 points with 13 rebounds and two blocks. It’s like he finally realized he’s a 7-footer.
Cam Ward — B
Cam Ward had a nice bounce-back game after Izzo challenged him to shake off the rust from the preseason. He did that and more, putting up nine points, five rebounds, two steals, and a block in 16 minutes off the bench. I see him eventually earning his starting role back, but he needs to string these types of games together.
Kur Teng — B+
Kur Teng came in and did what he was supposed to do. He scored 11 points off the bench in 15 minutes and made three big threes to ignite the crowd even more. Izzo needs him to come in and hit shots and when he’s doing that, he’s really good. Talk about a great weapon to have off the bench.
Carlos Medlock Jr. — A-
Kalin Lucas 2.0 — as Izzo alluded to in the post game — was as advertised, scoring nine points in a hurry off the bench but the only thing holding him back from an A instead of an A- was his 0-for-4 stretch from the free throw line. Carlos Medlock got fouled on a three and missed each one of his three freebies. Izzo won’t let that happen again. Medlock is going to be very good at MSU.
Ethan Taylor — C
It was a really quiet game for Ethan Taylor who played 14 minutes off the bench, scoring just one point with two rebounds and a block. Bonke was the better of the two centers against Quinnipiac, but Taylor shows flashes of being an elite rim protector.
Kaleb Glenn — A
The version of Kaleb Glenn that we saw on Monday night was reminiscient of a young Raymar Morgan which makes sense considering he’s now an assistant at MSU. Glenn also looked like a completely different and more confident player against Quinnipiac, scoring 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor with two rebounds, a steal, and a block. His willingness to back down defenders and score at the rim was fun to watch.
Julius Avent — Inc.
It’s really hard to give Julius Avent a grade from the season opener. He did play seven minutes and had two points and a rebound but he struggled a bit on defense with two fouls. He had a quiet debut in a Spartan uniform, but he’s a promising frontcourt player.
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