MSU Heads Into Promising Season

As the season creeps closer with a game against Idaho on Sunday, Tom Izzo is still shaken on what will be his starting lineup. 

A few starters are in the obvious: Raymar Morgan, a preseason All-Big Ten selection, will start at small or power forward; Kalin Lucas, the lighting quick point guard, will start running the floor; And Goran Suton will finish out his career at MSU as the go to center. 

The question is, who will fill out the rest of the lineup? With quick, high flying guards-Chris Allen, Durrell Summers, and Korie Lucious Izzo could run a small lineup with high scoring potential. The coach could also enlist defensive specialist and senior leader Travis Walton to set the pace of the game. Experienced forwards Idong Ibok and Marquise Gray also have an edge over heralded freshman Delvon Roe, who is coming off knee surgery. 

A good bet is to see Walton and Gray on the floor. Walton is the most seasoned player on the team and Gray has shown brilliance and will hopefully bring a full season of greatness to the team. Not to mention having dead-eye shooter Allen and high scoring Summers, who scored 30 in a preseason exhibition, come off the bench would add a spark to any team in the nation. 

The worrying of who will replace Neitzel as the leading scorer is pointless. Morgan possesses the ability to score high quantities in short periods of times. Summers and Allen, the same. Lucas is one of the quickest guards in the nation and can drive to the basket in a blink of the eye. Gray and Suton are solid low post scorers who can also step out and make 15-footers all game long. Roe looks to do the same. 

A shortage of scoring will not be a possible downfall to a team ranked in the Top Ten by most polls and experts. The only thing that can bring this team down is a lack of experience. With six players in the rotation sophomores or freshman, the team will have bundles of youth. But with three fifth-year senior forwards, three-time captain Walton and consistent junior Morgan, the team has plenty of stability to lean back on in crunch time. 

The Spartans also maintain yet another tough schedule. Games against Texas, Kansas, preseason number one North Carolina, and as always a brutal Big Ten season will test the team all year long and toughen them up for March.