MSU Will Face a Tough Road in Winning the Big Ten
Last night the Michigan State basketball team played an extremely competitive game with the young Purdue Boilermakers. The game probably shouldn’t have been that close, but we should expect a lot more games to go like that this season.
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Michigan State is still the favorite to win the Big Ten, but it will not be an easy task. There are a great deal of good teams in the Big Ten that will make it tough for the Spartans. I still truly believe that this team can go 16-2 in the Big Ten, but it will not be smooth sailing.
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Indiana is our toughest competition within the conference. D.J. White and Eric Gordon are two former McDonalds All-Americans that will be in the NBA next season. Many Spartans may not want to hear this, but Gordon is the best player in the Big Ten. He can shoot out to NBA three-point range and his strength and explosiveness are already at a professional level. Detroit native Jordan Crawford is a versatile guard that has made a big impact in his freshman season.
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Wisconsin is always tough no matter what players they lose to graduation. Bo Ryan is a great coach, and always has his players playing at a high level. Brian Butch is a big man that can step out on the perimeter and hit the open jump shot. Sophomore guard Trevon Hughes is their best perimeter player with a bright future in Madison.
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Teams like Ohio State and Purdue should be tournament teams this year, but should battle for the conference crown for years to come. Purdue has an impressive freshman class led by, E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel. Hummel was not able to play in the game against the Spartans. Thad Matta has stockpiled talent in Columbus led by freshman Kosta Koufos. Koufos is another freshman in the conference that may be one-and-done. He has great skills for someone 7 feet tall. Sophomore David Lighty was highly recruited coming out of high school, but he was overshadowed by his classmates and current NBA players Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook.
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Illinois is going through a down year in 2008, partly due to some big losses in recruiting that Bruce Weber has lost. Duke guard Jon Scheyer played for Weber’s brother in high school in Illinois, and Weber lost him to Coach K. Sharron Collins was a McDonalds All-American from Chicago, and he opted to play for Bill Self at Kansas. Weber also lost the well publicized recruiting fight for Eric Gordon, which he did win initially after Gordon committed to the Illini. Kelvin Sampson was able to eventually pry him away from Illinois. Even though this Illinois team will not be as good as in years past, players like Shaun Pruitt and Chester Frazier will still make it tough to win in Champaign.
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Iowa, Michigan, Penn State, Northwestern, and Minnesota aren’t projected to do much, but all possess qualities that make them formidable opponents. Todd Lickliter at Iowa is a tremendous coach that came over from Butler this year. Butler was a program that consistently reached the NCAA Tournament under his guidance. Penn State has already beaten Illinois at Assembly Hall. Geary Claxton is one of the better players in the conference, and he has been since his freshman season. Northwestern Sophomore Kevin Coble has returned to the team after dealing with some family issues. As a freshman he averaged about 13 points and 5 rebounds per game. Minnesota returned pretty much everyone from last year’s team and gained a great addition in coach Tubby Smith, who already has them playing at a higher level than last year.
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Michigan looks awful under new head coach John Beilein, but he is implementing a new system with players that don’t necessarily fit that system, excluding a few. Manny Harris, last year’s Mr. Basketball winner out of Redford High in Detroit is an absolute monster on the court. He is already one of the better players in the conference, and should earn All-Big Ten freshman team honors. DeShawn Sims is another talented player out of Detroit that has a variety of skills. It is very difficult to win when your two best players are a freshman and a sophomore.
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The Big Ten title is there for the taking if the Spartans stay focused and take care of business. They can’t sleep on any opponent because of the simple fact that they are the favorites and teams will be gunning for them every night. I know that is a cliché, but it is the truth. With the level of coaching in the conference, the Spartans will have to earn every victory.
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