Dont Count on it TMAC... I cant seem to turn Michigan.  Maybe it because Deep down inside its hard for me as a Buckeye to help the Wolverines succeed in anything lol

Spartan Report: Recruiting Roundup

Finally, Coach Tmac has finished his recruiting efforts. Now that recruiting for this season has come to a close, Coach has been quoted as saying, "I am very excited about the class we just signed. The potential this group has is enormous. This is a very good day for the Michigan State program."

So, lets see how Coach did.

Kevin "Seat Cushion" Casey: 78 overall, 13 center




Kevin comes in as a hyper athletic big man who is pretty solid at every attribute that a big man needs. The early report from MSU is that Kevin is going to be a career bench guy but there is nothing wrong with that. A solid bench is the difference between a good and a great team and Kevin is definitely a solid bench guy.

Chad "Bronk" Bronikowski: 32 overall, 6 center

JC is a SF that cannot run with speed. But thats ok because he can do everything else. He projects to handle like a guard, rebound like a bigman, and score at will whenever he gets the chance to start. JC showed his variety of skills at the McDonalds All America Game when he competed in both the Dunk Contest and the 3 Point Shootout. As soon as Sherman Fortin leaves for the NBA (either this year or next year) Joel will come in and begin to show the country what hes got. For now, he will be expected to do it all off the bench.

Ronald will probalby reside in the SF position at Wisconsin.  Coach Cy likes everything about Davis with exception to his passing not having any potential for improvement.  Would be nice if he had a bit more skill blocking shots as well. But with good ball handling an outstanding outside shop and nice speed and ath he should do well at the sf position.

#12 C  #73 overall
Robert Shelly
C | 6'10" | 246 lbs. | 2.4 GPA
Preble HS | Green Bay, WI

Potential

	Current Rating	Potential			Current Rating	Potential
Athleticism	93	Average		Perimeter	22	High
Speed	41	Low		Ball Handling	44	Average
Rebounding	90	Low		Passing	36	Average
Defense	77	High		Stamina	54	Average
Shot Blocking	88	Average		Durability	45	Average
Low-post	61	High		FT Shooting		High

If Shelly comes to wisconsin he should fit into the frontcourt nicely first as a rebounding and later as a pretty good scorer and defender.

Purdue Recruiting Wrap-Up

The Boilermakers went into another recruiting off-season with multiple needs, particularly at the swing spot and in the backcourt.  However, looking back, Purdue seems to have gotten stronger in the frontcourt with a big-time recruit from Europe and an athletic big from stateside, but doesn't seem to have any immediate answers from their other two recruits.

The class stacks up as follows:

PF Xavier Gutierrez
Overall 696

	Current Rating	Potential			Current Rating	Potential
Athleticism	91	Low		Perimeter	20	Low
Speed	27	High		Ball Handling	46	Average
Rebounding	65	High		Passing	50
Defense	75			Stamina	85	Average
Shot Blocking	56			Durability	22
Low-post	82			FT Shooting		High

Xavier arrives with the ability to produce immediately at Purdue and, with his excellent condition, will look to play a lot of minutes early.  Has a very high level of athleticism would should serve him well on offense and defense, particularly around the basket.  His excellent passing skills for a big man will fit in well with the Boilermaker's ball movement and with high potential to get faster, should be an excellent part of the press.

Herman Mahle PF
Overall 626
#40 PF/#132 Overall

	Current Rating	Potential			Current Rating	Potential
Athleticism	72	Average		Perimeter	12	High
Speed	49	Average		Ball Handling	55	Low
Rebounding	50	High		Passing	46	Average
Defense	61	High		Stamina	67	Average
Shot Blocking	45	Low		Durability	64	Average
Low-post	60	High		FT Shooting		High

Herman looks to provide some depth at PF, but given how thin Purdue is at SF, he might see some minutes at that position throughout his freshman season, though his lack of elite speed might really hurt at that position.  When the 3 senior bigs graduate after this season, Mahle will be ready to contribute alongside fellow recruit Gutierrez.


Zhong Xayasith
PG
Overall 512

	Current Rating	Potential			Current Rating	Potential
Athleticism	71			Perimeter	30	High
Speed	76	High		Ball Handling	69	High
Rebounding	1			Passing	73	Avg
Defense	45	High		Stamina	54	High
Shot Blocking	1	Low		Durability	36
Low-post	1	Low		FT Shooting		High

The first of two project recruits, Zhang will likely need an extra season of seasoning and can expect a redshirt at some time during his career, if not as a freshman.  Has the potential to have elite speed, defense and ballhandling and should be a contributor for mcauley in a couple of years, provided he's still at the school.


Seth Gow
SF
Overall 512

	Current Rating	Potential			Current Rating	Potential
Athleticism	47	Average		Perimeter	58	Low
Speed	27	High		Ball Handling	26	High
Rebounding	32	High		Passing	51	Low
Defense	28	High		Stamina	55	High
Shot Blocking	27	High		Durability	61	High
Low-post	36	High		FT Shooting		Average

Gow is another project that has "high" potential to be a solid player in the future.  Boilermaker scouts spent a lot of time watching Gow in high school and think he has truly exceptional ability for growth in speed, defense, low post and ballhandling.  Gow will likely take a redshirt this season.

The Boilermakers spent a lot of time and effort on another recruit that got away and to a much smaller school that would have helped this class's depth greatly.  Gutierrez and Mahle should make excellent Division 1 basketball players and Zayasith and Gow have the potential to be contributors down the line, but mcauley had better hope that he wins this season and has a much more top-heavy class next year and is not having to depend on the bottom portion of this class.

scottevans, I know it's not funny to you, but your recruiting recap cracked me up.  I love the part about the dumb Ivy leaguer. 

This thread is awesome - let's try to keep it up (until I get fired from Purdue...then you can all do what you want :)

you wont get fired mcauley... your not even close lol. And scott that really sucks man I dont think ive ever recruited at MSU with less then 3 scholarships.

It's real hard to recruit with one open scholarship unless someone leaves early i'll be doing it next season :(

mcauley it's all good.  I was hoping to add some humor to the situation.  Not signing a guy isn't the end of the world.  As it was mentioned it's really tough to recruit with only one ship to give.  I will have at least 4 next year though so hopefully I'm able to land some difference-makers.

My season preview should be up sometime soon, probably tomorrow.

Spartan Report: Team Outlook

Well Spartan fans, here we go again. Another season of Michigan State basketball. The anticipation is building all throughout East Lansing and the players are ready to finally start the season. One word describes the Spartans this season, potential. The roster is made up of mainly young players but those young players are talented. So before we go any farther in to how we think the team will fare this season, lets meet the players.

So after 6 weeks of practice, Coach tmac has decided on a starting lineup that he feels gives his team the best chance to win.

At the Point, Donald "Don" Bollman has earned the nod. The junior averaged an impressive 3 apg off of the bench last year while also contributing 3.8 ppg. Look for Don to run the ship well for MSU this season as he is as pure of a point guard as they come.

At the 2, Aaron "AC" Collard is back and ready to earn some more hardware. The Sophomore took the nation by storm last year by averaging 10.3 ppg and 2.2 apg on his way to taking home Conference Freshmen of the Year and 3rd Team All Conference. Oh, and did I mention that the kid also won National Freshmen of the Year. NBA scouts are all over this kid and the hype around him is insane, as shown by the Pre Season 2nd Team All American nod. Watch out for AC, he is a special one.

At Small Forward, Sherman "Spark" Fortin slides into the starting spot after leading the team in scoring with 13.3 ppg last year off the bench. Spark earned 2nd team all conference last year as he took advantage of the less talented bench players he went against. NBA Scouts pleaded with Spark to declare last year, but he wasnt ready to end his college career yet. He feel he needed to prove he could put up numbers while starting and for that Coach tmac has named him Team Captain for this season. Collegiate Insider also awarded him with a Pre Season 1st Team All American spot. Lets see if he can live up to all the talk hes causing.

At the 4, Mike "Breath Heavy" Lavender will become a starter. Named for his lack of stamina, Breath Heavy is a solid defensive player who will only be asked to play defense and rebound for this team. Anything else he contributes will be extra. He averaged 2 ppg and 2.4 rpg off the bench last year.

And the man in the middle, freshmen sensation Chad "Bronk" Bronikowski. Bronk comes in with the 3rd highest ranking of the incoming frosh, but Coach tmac feels he has the best skills to contribute right now. Bronk is a great shot blocking, rebounding, and defensive big man who will clog the middle this year. Don't expect much scoring this season from him, however the other things he does will more then make up for it.

And coming off the bench, Robert "Hype" Lawson will be the point, Christopher "Floor" Adams will be the shooting guard, Joel "JC" Coleman will be the 3, Kevin "Seat Cushion" Casey will the power forward, and Christopher "ESP" Espitia will be the 5. Hype and JC are projected impact freshmen who should give valuable contributions off the bench while Floor and ESP are looking to use a year of experience to help MSU with it's scoring off the bench. All Seat Cushion will be asked to do is play defense and rebound.

So what should we expect from The Spartans this year. Well, they start off the season with a #10 ranking which may be a little high right now, but they will make improvements all year and will be at the top of their game come tournament time. So after all the dust settles in Big 10 play, Coach tmac wants a conference championship and an 8th straight trip to the Sweet 16. Hopefully he can pull it off.

Nice report Tmac Was going to try and get mine done tonight at work not looking good for that I'll either throw it up when i get home bout 1 am or knock it out in the morning.

#2 Wisconsin A mix of good young talent and older seasoned players. There probably isn't a real superstar on the roster but from top to bottom the badgers are pretty solid.

#3 Notre Dame With 7 upperclassman this looks like the season that coach Gordanferris looks to make a move.

#4 Michigan Pretty Young team but coach Goofypook has them heading in the right direction

#5 Iowa Going with new coach Wvyjack in the 5 spot in a tight race with Michigan. Wvyjack takes over a Iowa program that is looking to break back into the postseason.

#6 Minnesota The legend of KKyutzy lives on strong in this northern state As the administrators have been unable to find a willing replace the gophers continue to descend into the doldrums.

#1 Northwestern Coach Scottevans returns 11 players losing only Super sg Douglass Kennedy and looks to remain high in the standings.

#2 Illinois Coach Ledfoot brings back 5 seniors and looks to try and return to the top of the west while holding off a good looking Indiana squad.

#3 Indiana Coach Jbohrman Has returned the Hoosiers back to the limelight after some struggles earlier in his career. With 6 Upperclassman this team looks like a tough matchup.

#4 Penn State Coach Rickbrett looks to have the Nittany Lions in the hunt. With 7 upperclassman this team could be a sleeper in the west.

#5 Purdue. Despite being on probation Coach Mcauley has a good squad that has the misfortune of playing in a conference with too many good teams. Coach Mcauley will look to his 5 seniors to try and do some damage.

#6 Ohio State Coach Lhrr looks to get the Buckeyes on track

tmac's Big 10 Predictions

East

1: Michigan State- As long as the youth jells and they can figure out how to rebound, we will be a pretty solid team. 

2: Wisconsin- Solid team. Could definitely end up number 1, expect some flat out battles between them and MSU.

3: Notre Dame- Good players all around but no wow players that seperate the good players from the great teams. Definitely looks like a NT team though.

4: Iowa- Picking them over Michigan mostly because of their advantage at Small Forward. I think Cross will be a difference maker this season. Also I don't want to copy cyric's picks.

5: Michigan- Carl Stevens is a star but can his teammates rise up to help him. Time will tell.

6: Minnesota- They need a coach.

West

1: Illinois- Great team whose athleticism at every position puts them on top

2: Northwestern- Lose a star from last season, but return some very good players. They will do damage this season and could finish first.

3: Indiana- Good team but has a few flaws that keep them from rising to the top

4: Penn State- Has some really good players but not enough depth to finish in the top 3

5: Purdue- Lacks a good point guard which is going to cost them

6: Ohio State- Their backcourt is lacking which might result in a good amount of turnovers.

Thanks cyric i love doing these things because it makes me get to know my team more. Also looks like our predictions are pretty close, hopefully for my team's sake we are right :).