Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from exhibition win over Ferris State

Get excited, Michigan State basketball fans. Tuesday marked the end of the preseason as the Spartans welcomed Ferris State to the Breslin Center. The Bulldogs were the second exhibition opponent of the year for Tom Izzo. For me, it was a much-needed sign that basketball season is close. I, for one, could not be happier about that.

The Spartans ended up winning the game 85-67. While overall the Spartans played decently, there were some takeaways from this game that I think are things to watch moving forward.

Here are my biggest takeaways from Tuesday’s game.

1. Frankie Fidler may be this team’s best scoring threat

I don’t think this is necessarily a hot take or anything. Also, for reference, I’ve been talking about it since the Spain games this summer. Frankie Fidler’s offensive game is as advertised. So far since putting on the Spartan uniform, he has shown the ability to score from anywhere on the floor.

Tuesday was no exception.

Fidler showed the ability to score from deep, in transition, in the mid range game, and driving to the net.

The Omaha transfer was able to log 14 points tonight to lead the team. He was not as efficient as he normally is doing so on 3-for-7 from the field. He went 2-for-4 from deep and sank six of his seven free throws. Attacking the rim was something he focused on and it did pay major dividends for him.

Having a consistent scorer at all levels will be big this year when trying to replace Tyson Walker. The hope going into the season was that Jaden Akins would also take a step in his game as well to help that. Whether or not he does remains to be seen. I do have some concerns with Akins from what I’ve seen so far. Maybe that changes throughout the season, however, Frankie appears to the best option so far. Jeremy Fears can also do be effective in this role as well, however, playing the primary one, he may not be able to showcase his scoring as effectively.

2. Half-court offense and certain lineups are causing major issues

Stop me if you have heard this before: Michigan State basketball looks its best when it gets out and run in transition. Well, the same is going to be true this year and it was Tuesday night.

The half-court offense struggles mightily. This is in part to some of the lineup decisions that have been made by the coaching staff so far. Other reasons to this would be lack of movement and shooting efficiency. Two big men in the lineup may be the issue. Fears appears to be comfortable running the offense but lack of ball movement overall and bigger players in the line up do not help this.

Getting out in transition as much as possible and running more of the smaller guards will help. I would love to see more minutes in the season for Jase Richardson, Tre Holloman, and even Kur Teng.

Richardson has seemed very comfortable so far this preseason. Of course that is in limited action but overall, I’ve been pretty pleased. I hope that we will see more time carved out for him similar to how Holloman got more minutes last year. Simply put, he needs to be in the major rotation moving forward. He’s earned it.

The transition game will obviously excel with players like Coen Carr, Fears, Fidler, and Akins on the floor. All have shown the ability to get out and run well. Obviously Carr is from another planet with his athletic ability. We’ve known that. But the others can consistently help and that may be more beneficial for the Spartans moving forward.

Overall, I think Michigan State’s best scoring lineups would be when we go a little smaller. Being able to play three guards, Carr at the four, and then potentially Xavier Booker or Jaxon Kohler at the five, will allow the best spacing moving forward. At least for now.

3. The young guns will have to be major contributors on this team

I’ve mentioned this in a few different points so far but I need to state it again. This team will only go as far as the young guns on the team will take it. Up and down the roster, the freshmen and sophomores are going to have to make major contributions on a daily basis for this team to get to be where it wants to be.

Let’s start with Fears. The redshirt freshman is the No. 1 point guard. He will be the leader of this team and has a legit chance to go down as the next great Izzo point guard when it’s all said and done. He runs the offense well, leads by example, plays tough on defense, distributes the ball well, and finally can score from anywhere on the court. Having him as the captain of the ship will be great so long as he stays consistent and out of foul trouble.

Next, we have Richardson. Jase has came into campus with a lot of notoriety based on his dad (a Spartan legend you may have heard of before). This summer, all Jase did was make consistent plays and play some good ball. His play warrants a bigger role in the rotation. I would love to see him get some looks as the next guard not named Holloman off the bench.

Booker also needs to be a major part of the machine if this team wants to have a chance in March and April this year. We all knew as he was coming out of high school that Xavier needed some time to acclimate to Big Ten play. He spent most of his freshman year last year doing so in a limited role. Many fans questioned Izzo on why he was handling Xavier with such kid gloves. He started to show why down the stretch last year.

So far this year, Booker has picked up right where he left off at the end of last season and is an emerging star for Michigan State basketball. He will spend some time at the four in bigger lineups though I still see maybe his best spot being the five in a small ball line up. His athleticism and skill stand off the charts and his offensive game is coming around. He is not afraid to get his nose dirty down low but can also hurt opposing teams from beyond the arc as well.

For this team to succeed, a consistent Booker is going to be as important as any.

Lastly, I want to mention Carr. I think if I could ask the basketball gods for one thing, it may very well be for Carr to develop a jumper and pose some threat to score from deep cause then he would simply be unguardable.

Carr’s athleticism is something we haven’t quite seen at MSU in a while. We’ve all seen the highlight-reel dunks. We’ve seen how fast he can get down the court. We know he can get back on defense quickly and has the ability to chase down a block. Carr will get some minutes. His best role for me is in a small ball four spot. If he can ever develop an outside jump shot he will earn a lot more playing time. This would see the team excel even faster.

There are a few more things I would like to see but overall I thought Tuesday’s game was what you would expect out of an exhibition. Hopefully some of the issues will get cleaned up before we get too far into the season. Michigan State basketball will see Kansas really early in the Champions Classic. It also may see two-time defending national champion UConn in Maui as well.

This all being said, I am happy basketball season is upon us. I can’t wait for the regular season to start next Monday.

Go Green.