Bleacher Report - Articles by Jason Funk

Michigan State Spartans Basketball 2009-2010 Preview

Jason Funk — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:20:36 -0400

Michigan State will open its season against Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 13 as the No. 2 team in the country.

The Spartans have a lot to look forward to this year. Kalin Lucas, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, is back. In fact, they return the whole nucleus of the team that was the national runner-up last season, and have two great new freshmen.

Derrick Nix and Garrick Sherman are the new players on campus this year. Both are big men, Nix at 6'8" and Sherman at 6'10", which is good considering the losses of Goran Suton and Marquis Gray.

Coach Tom Izzo has said that this year's team may be like a doughnut, with a hole in the middle.

Last season Goran Suton and Marquis Gray carried the load up front. Delvon Roe, now a sophomore, has shown he can bang with the big boys up front, so it will be up to Nix and Sherman to step up and take a share of the load, especially once the Big Ten in-conference part of the schedule rolls around.

The back court, however, is looking great. Lucas is the most electric player in the Big Ten. Durrell Summers started to look like a superstar in the second half of last season.

Raymar Morgan rounds it out at small forward. If he can stay healthy, watch out, because he will be a candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year.

The bench will be very deep as well. Chris Allen was very inconsistent last year, but if he can get his shot right, he is one of the best shooters in the Big Ten.

Korie Lucious is another guard off the bench who will fill in for Lucas. Lucious is the fastest player on the team and will give some quality minutes. Draymond Green will also offer up some minutes up front with Roe, Nix, and Sherman.

Tom Izzo will have this team ready to go, as there are some tough games early (Gonzaga, Florida, North Carolina). Looking ahead, I see the Spartans easily repeating as Big Ten Champs, going 26-4 overall and 16-2 in conference play.

Big Ten Basketball Midseason Report

Jason Funk — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:48:18 -0500

The mid-way point of the Big Ten season has been reached and things are heating up.

Here is a breakdown of each team's season so far, in order of the current standings.

Michigan State (17-4, 7-2)

The Spartans came charging out of the gates with a 5-0 conference start, the first time they have done that in 28 years.

They are the No. 2 rebounding team in the country and have clearly shown that in terms of rebounding, they are the Big Ten's daddy.

Michigan State has had two recent hiccups at home versus Northwestern and Penn State, but if they play top notch from here on out, they should not lose another game.

Purdue (17-4, 6-2)

After starting the Big Ten season 0-2, it looked as if the Boilermakers title hopes would be washed down the drain early.

But a recent surge has led Purdue to a six-game win streak that leaves them only a half game behind the Big Ten-leading Spartans.

If Hummel can stay healthy, this team will challenge for a Big Ten title and play deep into March.

Minnesota (18-3, 6-3)

Minnesota has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the conference.

If this team keeps playing as well as they have, they should easily make the NCAA tournament and contend with Purdue and Michigan State for the crown.

With Tubby Smith running this ship, get used to the Gophers winning a lot of games this year and for many years to come.

Illinois (18-4, 6-3)

Illinois is back to the top of the Big Ten standings after a disappointing season last year.

They have only a few quality wins so far, but once their young players acquire that winning mentality, they will win the big games like the one they let get away in East Lansing earlier this season.

I don't see this team contending with Michigan State and Purdue, but they could definitely cause some problems for them.

Penn State (17-5, 6-3)

Penn State has one of the best players in the Big Ten in Talor Battle, who heads the Nittany Lions' high-scoring trio along with Stanley Pringle and Jamelle Cornley.

If those three guys play well, they can beat anyone, as they showed Michigan State on Sunday as well as Purdue earlier in the season.

Ohio State (15-5, 5-4)

Ohio State has improved this year, but the Buckeyes are still very young.

They have shown they can win some tough games, but they aren't quite ready to jump to the top of the food chain.

If Thad Matta can keep this freshman class together for three or four years, they will be heard from in the future, but they aren't there this season.

Northwestern (12-7, 4-5)

Northwestern already has wins against the conference's elite.

They have some gamers and have been very competitive. Kevin Coble can play with anyone in the Big Ten.

They will be a scary match-up for the conference's top teams and won't be an easy out all season.

Michigan (14-8, 4-6)

Michigan looked very strong at the beginning of this season, with wins versus Duke and UCLA, but the wheels have fallen off since.

Michigan cannot seem to escape their pattern of starting strong, only to fade into the NIT. They have some pieces to the puzzle, but they are too dumb to put them together.

Wisconsin (12-9, 3-6)

The Badgers have been one of the most disappointing teams in the country. After opening 3-0 in conference, they have since lost six straight.

Wisconsin has competed in each of the past six games, but can't get a break and pull one out at the end. It will be a long season for the Badgers.

Iowa (12-10, 2-7)

The Hawkeyes have been clawless thus far.

They are a young team that is improving with every game, and they will be dangerous in the future. But they stink right now.

Indiana (5-15, 0-8)

I truly underestimated how bad this team was.

Watching these Hoosiers try to win a game is like watching a baby try to walk. While their effort is cute, you can tell there is no way it's going to happen.

I feel bad for Tom Crean, because he is a great coach in a bad situation. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but that light is a train coming at them right now.

Capital One Bowl Preview: Michigan State Vs. Georgia

Jason Funk — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:18:06 -0500

The college football bowl season is underway, and there are many intriguing games to come, but I would like to focus on the Capital One Bowl.

Michigan State and Georgia will travel to Orlando to battle for the Capital One Bowl. Neither team expected to be in this bowl in August.

Michigan State was not at all expecting a New Year’s Day bowl, and Georgia had National title hopes, as the Bulldogs were a preseason number one.

Let's take a look at all of the matchups that will take place.

Quarterbacks

Both teams have good quarterbacks, but only one team has a great quarterback, and it's Georgia.

Matthew Stafford has been the man in Georgia for three seasons now. This season was his best yet.

He threw for 3,209 yards and 22 touchdowns with an incredible 153.2 passer rating.

Michigan State's Brian Hoyer gets far fewer attempts than Stafford but has thrown eight interceptions compared to Stafford's nine. Hoyer also has a mediocre 113.9 passer rating.

No contest, Georgia wins this one.

Running Backs

This is probably the most interesting matchup on the field with two of the nation's best backs squaring off.

Knowshon Moreno and Javon Ringer are both well-rounded backs. They both have incredible speed, while both can still put their shoulder down and run between the tackles.

The thing that sets them apart is the number of carries Ringer has gotten. Ringer averages almost 31 carries per game, while Moreno gets the ball 19 times per game.

If this game is close late in the game, Ringer is going to be able to give Michigan State more solid carries in the fourth quarter, so the Spartans take this one.

Receivers

Georgia has so many weapons on the outside, they could start a nuclear war.

Their speed is sure to be unmatched by the Spartans. A.J. Green and Mohamed Massaquoi both had over 900 yards receiving and nine touchdowns each.

Michigan State just doesn't have the talent of Georgia. Blair White and Mark Dell have been good targets for Hoyer, but they lack the big play ability that Georgia has.

Georgia takes another one.

Defense

In these SEC vs. Big Ten bowl games, everyone wants to talk about the speed disparity in favor of the SEC.

Michigan State's defense can run with Georgia. Their front seven is one of the most athletic in the country, with a very fast linebacker corps.

Georgia's defense had the opportunity to play against far superior offenses this year than the offenses Michigan State faced.

Michigan State played stingy defense against lower competition, but against the powers of the Big Ten (Ohio State and Penn State), they gave up an average of 47 points in those games.

Georgia appears to have a better offense than those teams, so it will be interesting to see if the Spartan defense will be up to the challenge.

Georgia gets the nod on defense.

The Pick

Michigan State has had a very good year and has shown that the program is headed in the right direction, but still hasn’t proven that they can hang with the big dogs.

Georgia is a big dog. They have the tools to carve up the Spartans, and I expect them to.

Georgia wins 38-17.

Michigan State-Idaho: Spartans Demolish Vandals in Opener

Jason Funk — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:00:24 -0500

Michigan State opened their season with a 38-point victory over the Idaho Vandals Sunday.

The Spartans looked very impressive on their way to dropping 100 on Idaho. While they didn't play a good team, Michigan St. beat them like they should have.

The Spartans had excellent efforts from almost everyone, showing off to the nation how deep they are while steamrolling Idaho 100-62.

Raymar Morgan and Chris Allen led the Spartans with 21 points each, which was a career high for Allen. Both Allen and Morgan were very effective, going 14-20 from the field.

Beyond the two stars of Michigan State lie 7-10 more players that will play big minutes in more meaningful games against teams like Maryland and North Carolina, who are coming up soon on the schedule.

The Spartans are arguably the deepest team in the country at every position. The team is comprised of guys that could have started elsewhere, but would rather be a "role player" at Michigan State.

A flaw of some of coach Tom Izzo's teams in between point guards Mateen Cleaves (1996-2000) and Drew Neitzel (2004-2008) was the lack of a true point guard.

This 2008-09 squad has three of them—three really good ones. Sophomore Kalin Lucas will most likely start and be one of the top three scorers for the Spartans this year. He contributed against Idaho with a near double-double with 13 points and nine assists.

Behind him is senior Travis Walton, who isn't the greatest scorer, but will play tenacious defense and run the point guard position efficiently, as he showed versus Idaho with five assists.

New this year is freshman Korie Lucious. He may not get significant playing time, but he is the future point guard for this Spartan team. He showed some flashes of brilliance, but also made some freshman mistakes, scoring seven points in only 13 minutes of play.

The other new freshmen this year, Delvon Roe and Draymond Green, looked decent as well.

Roe was great on the glass in a mediocre team rebounding performance. He went through microfracture surgery last winter and only played one game in his senior year of high school. He isn't expected to be at 100 percent until late December at the latest, and from what he showed last night, he will get decent playing time and will be a major scoring threat come March.

Draymond Green played significantly less than Lucious and Roe, scoring two points in six minutes of play. With his big frame and toughness, he will be a huge tool in the Big Ten season, rotating in for Marquise Gray, Goran Suton, and Raymar Morgan.

This team looked as strong as any ranked opponent so far this year. They scored 100 on an Idaho squad that hadn't given up that kind of point total in 490 straight games.

The offense was great, shooting 59.6 percent from the field and having only nine turnovers. They will always have five scoring threats on the floor.

Top Five Greatest Coaches of All Time

Jason Funk — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:10:01 -0500

Considering every sport ever played, there have been hundreds of thousands of coaches to come along. From the fathers that coach their children's soccer teams to big-time NFL coaches, there have been many great ones, but only five have made this list as the greatest coaches of all time.

5. Phil Jackson

1989-1998 Chicago Bulls, 1999-2004, 2005-2008 Los Angeles Lakers

Jackson is one of the most decorated NBA coaches ever. He has nine NBA titles, six of which came with the Bulls ('91,'92,'93,'96,'97,'98), and he later pulled off the third three-peat of his career while in Los Angeles ('00,'01,'02).

Jackson has coached some of the greatest players to ever set foot on a basketball court, including Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant. He has a 981-418 record, which includes a remarkable 193-84 record in the playoffs.

4. Paul "Bear" Bryant

1945 Maryland, 1946-1953 Kentucky, 1954-1957 Texas A&M, 1958-1982 Alabama

Bryant was the all-time wins leader in NCAA football history until Joe Paterno surpassed him in 2001. He has a career record of 323-85-17.

He has won the NCAA Coach of the Year award three times, won 13 SEC championships, coached four undefeated seasons, and cemented his legacy with an amazing six national championships ('61,'64,'65,'73,'78,'79).

3. Don Shula

1963-1969 Baltimore Colts, 1970-1995 Miami Dolphins

Shula grabbed two NFL championships in 1972 and 1973 with the Miami Dolphins. His career record of 328-156-6 puts him head and shoulders above all other NFL coaches on the all-time wins list. He also had a 19-17 record in the playoffs.

2. Vince Lombardi

1959-1967 Green Bay Packers, 1969 Washington

The current Super Bowl trophy is named after Lombardi. He only coached for 10 seasons, but in that span, he won an incredible five NFL championships. His Packers were considered football royalty during his reign.

He had a career record of 96-34-6, but even more incredibly, Lombardi posted a 9-1 playoff record.

That is getting it done when it counts.

1. John Wooden

1947-1948 Indiana State, 1949-1975 UCLA

He was the coach of one of the greatest dynasties of all time. His UCLA Bruins won an unthinkable seven straight NCAA championships. That had never been done, and hasn't been repeated since. Winning back-to-back championships is a great accomplishment in and of itself, but seven?

He ended his career with 10 NCAA titles, which is the most ever. He had a 677-161 record, with an NCAA-record 88-game winning streak in the middle of that. Don't forget his four consecutive undefeated seasons and six Coach of the Year awards.

Wooden is the greatest coach ever.

2008-09 Big Ten Men's Basketball Preview

Jason Funk — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:24:38 -0500

In this year's preseason AP poll, the Big Ten has three teams in the top 25, headed by No. 6 Michigan State, along with No. 11 Purdue and No. 25 Wisconsin. All three will contend for a Big Ten championship. Here is a preview for each team and how they will finish

Michigan State 25-3 (16-2)
Purdue 23-5 (14-4)
Wisconsin 21-7 (13-5)
Minnesota 24-6 (13-5)
Ohio State 21-8 (12-6)
Iowa 18-12 (9-9)
Illinois 16-14 (8-10)
Penn State 17-13 (6-12)
Indiana 11-17 (5-13)
Michigan 9-19 (2-16)
Northwestern 9-20 (1-17)

Illinois

Last season was a rebuilding year in Champagne as the Illini missed the NCAA tournament for the first time under Bruce Weber.

The Illini have C Stan Simpson coming in as a freshman this year, which should help fill the hole left by Shaun Pruitt. They also have senior guards Trent Meacham and Chester Frazier returning, who will play tenacious defense. Overall, this is a better team than last year's squad, but still no NCAA tournament.

Indiana

The Hoosiers were in the news as much as anyone in the offseason by firing Kelvin Sampson and hiring of Marquette coach Tom Crean.

The Hoosiers have lost the bulk of their team from last season, which made the NCAA tournament and lost in the first round. Stars DJ White and Eric Gordon are now in the NBA, and many scholarship players transferred after the firing of Sampson.

Indiana does have a good recruiting class coming in this year, lead by SG Nick Williams, but this class will be asked to lead this team and play a lot of minutes. The learning curve for these kids will take a while. A tough season is ahead in Bloomington.

Iowa

The Hawkeyes are not great, but don't sleep on this team. They could pull a couple of upsets in the Big Ten, especially at home.

They have some key pieces returning, as well as incoming freshmen Matt Gatens and Andrew Brommer, as well as four others who will have an immediate impact on this team. This is definitely a Big Ten team on the rise.

Michigan

Michigan looked horrendous last year, and will be even worse this year. Manny Harris is the only true scoring threat returning, and with a horrible recruiting class, this team will be on the decline.

They play a tough schedule featuring road games at Maryland and Connecticut, and a home game versus Duke, which won't help. Michigan fans better savor the football season. Oops, my bad, never mind.

Michigan State

Coach Tom Izzo looks to regain focus for a team that was very inconsistent last season. They have a rivals.com No. 22 ranked recruiting class coming in.

The Spartans did lose Drew Neitzel and Drew Naymick, but leading scorer Raymar Morgan is returning, along with Kalin Lucas, who will be expected to score a lot more this season. Izzo has a good group here.

Minnesota

This will be year two for Tubby Smith in Minneapolis. He has a rivals.com No. 23 ranked recruiting class coming in as his first true class at Minnesota.

The Gophers made the NIT last year, but look for them to have a better season with some holes being filled with a solid group of freshmen and make the NCAA tournament.

Northwestern

They are the doormat of the Big Ten. Last year they finished a dismal 8-22, winning only one Big Ten game.

Leading scorer Kevin Coble is returning this year, and they have a couple of freshmen that will get a lot of minutes, but the Wildcats simply do not have the weapons to compete in the Big Ten.

Ohio State

Defending NIT Champions! That does not ring well in the ears of Buckeye fans, as Ohio State failed to make the NCAA tournament last season.

Look for the Buckeyes to make leaps and bounds with a rivals.com No. 5 recruiting class. This will be a very young team, but Thad Matta will get this group peaking at the right time. They will definitely be a factor in the Big Ten title race.

Penn State

Penn State showed flashes of greatness last year, but didn't quite have the tools to put it all together. Top player Geary Claxton's injury may have hampered their success.

The Nittany Lions will have trouble competing with the top teams in the conference, but have a definite shot to make a move on the middle echelon teams.

Purdue

They were the surprise of the Big Ten last year, but Purdue will not sneak up on anyone this year. The Boilermakers have a relatively easy schedule, so look for them to pile up the wins and move up in the rankings.

This Big Ten season will be no different. With a very young team and players like Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore returning, this team has a fantastic shot at a Big Ten title.

Wisconsin

The Badgers are defending Big Ten champions, and Bo Ryan will put another competitive team on the court this year.

They did lose some major pieces to the puzzle, but have a very good recruiting class coming in, as well as Marcus Landry and Trevon Hughes returning. This team will play some of the best defense in the country and score just enough to beat anyone. They are sure shot Big Ten contenders.

Could the Lions Possibly Go 0-16?

Jason Funk — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:09:32 -0500

The Cincinnati Bengals picked up their first victory of the season last Sunday, leaving the Detroit Lions the only winless team left in the NFL.

Until last season, no team in the NFL had ever finished a 16-game regular season with a zero in their record (16-0 or 0-16). But as we all know, the Patriots finished their season 16-0, but still, no team has ever finished 0-16. The Lions are now making a run for the 0-16 mark.

Detroit fans have been through this before. In 2003, the Tigers could muster only 43 wins, compared to 119 losses, tying the MLB record for the worst season ever. They blew having the outright title by winning five of their last six games to tie the record.

With eight games left for the Lions, seven of their opponents have a record of .500 or better. The only opponent with a losing record are the 3-5 Jacksonville Jaguars, who the Lions play this week.

The Jaguars have had a disappointing season so far, but have showed flashes of greatness, and they have not lost a game by more than seven points.

After the Jags, it is all down hill for the Lions. They travel to a 6-2 Carolina team. Following that, a three game home stretch comes up versus Tampa Bay, Tennessee, and Minnesota. They finish their run at history at Indianapolis, hosting New Orleans, and the grand finale at Lambeau to take on the Packers.

The Lions rank near last in almost every major offensive and defensive category. They rank 31st with 72.0 rushing yards per game. The Lions share the 26th slot in takeaway/giveaway category at -3 and are dead last in total defense, allowing 408.9 yards per game.

If the Lions could pull off the 0-16 record, they would obviously receive the first pick in April's draft. Detroit is no strangers to high draft picks though.

The Lions have had a top-10 pick six times since 2002, with 2008 being the only exception (17th pick). With picks like that, one would think that the Lions would have a decent team with some young stars.

But they are the opposite. Four of those six picks are no longer with the team. Ernie Sims has turned out to be a decent NFL linebacker and Calvin Johnson is turning into a star wide receiver, but it seems the Lions could have drafted Joe Thomas to help keep their quarterbacks on their feet.

The point is, the Lions have made no use of the advantage they received via the draft. Finishing 0-16 this season would just exemplify the organization.

The organization is horrible from top to bottom. The owners, the Ford family, have absolutely zero desire to win, they just want to turn a profit, which they do. The front office is horrible, turning in horrible drafts year in and year out. Then the players top it off by being the worst at what they do.

Allen Iverson Headed to Detroit: Good Move by Pistons GM Joe Dumars

Jason Funk — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:14:37 -0500

Just two games into the season, a blockbuster trade has already been made in the NBA.

The Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets agreed on a deal to send Allen Iverson to Detroit in return for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb.

The Pistons won the NBA championship in 2004. That year, GM Joe Dumars brought in Rasheed Wallace in a midseason trade to round out a great starting four—Billups, Hamilton, Prince, and Ben Wallace—who were just searching for that fifth piece.

Rasheed came in and sparked the Pistons to the championship. Since then, they have made it to at least the Eastern Conference Finals in every season, with the same starters—with the exception of Ben Wallace.

Every year, this same team loses deep in May, and always leaves fans wondering—will they ever be able to get over the hump again?

This trade might be the answer. The more and more the league changes, the more and more the Pistons stay the same. This brings someone fresh into the organization, someone new to rejuvenate this team.

Beyond that, Iverson brings that playmaking ability that the Pistons had been lacking. Sure, Hamilton and Prince can make plays—but late in the fourth quarter, when the team is trying to hold off someone for a victory, or trying to make a shot with seconds left to win, Iverson's hands are the one's you want the ball in.

He brings the scoring ability that was good for third in the NBA last year. He now brings the hunger for an NBA championship that he has been deprived his whole career, and he brings the intangibles to win basketball games—which is what this Pistons squad needs if they plan to beat the Celtics and play into June.

Cincinnati-South Florida: Thursday Night Losses Keep Coming for Ranked Teams

Jason Funk — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:36:47 -0400

Thursday night in college football has been an absolute slaughterhouse for ranked teams. On six different occurrences a ranked team has fallen to an unranked opponent on Thursday night this season. The only team seemingly immune to this Thursday night "plague" is Wake Forest, who has twice won on Thursday night as a ranked team.

Cincinnati defeated the No. 23-ranked South Florida Bulls on Thursday night, making USF a Thursday night victim for a second time this season.

The Bearcats came into the game with a 5-2 record and looking for a home upset, as well as trying to knock off a contender in a weak Big East conference. Quarterback Tony Pike stepped up to the challenge. Throwing 20-28 for 281 yards and two TDs, he dominated opposing quarterback Matt Grothe.

Grothe, who had a phenomenal season last year and received some Heisman talk, cracked under the pressure versus the Bearcats. Grothe threw for only 174 yards on 13-31 passing while throwing three picks, as opposed to Pike's one interception.

With that performance, USF is out of the Big East picture barring a miracle with a 1-3 conference mark.

Cincinnati, on the other hand, helped their cause by beating the Bulls, who in some preseason publications were picked to win the Big East. The Bearcats are sitting in the third slot in the Big East behind West Virginia (2-0 in Big East play) and Connecticut (2-1 in Big East play).

Next Saturday, Cincinnati will travel to Morgantown to take on the Mountaineers. The winner of that game could very well come out on top in the conference.

Cincinnati solidified itself as a legitimate contender by dominating the Bulls. The rushing tandem of John Goebel and Jacob Ramsey is running well. They teamed up for 121 yards on 32 carries and a TD.

Pike is a big threat as a passer that opposing defenses will have to watch out for. The defense also looked spectacular, allowing just 10 points to a USF team that was averaging 33.5 points/game prior to the game.

In a wide-open Big East, Cincinnati has a great chance to snatch the championship, only needing a little help.