InsideHoops.com previews #12 MSU
InsideHoops.com - College Basketball Preview:
Why the Bulldogs could win it all: Like Warrick and Syracuse, or Simien and Kansas, 6′9″ MSU big man Lawrence Roberts (16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds last season) is a leading national POY candidate who’s capable of carrying the Bulldogs a long way on his back yet again. Though rebounding machine Brandon Vincent has graduated, Roberts gets some frontcourt help in the form of two of the South’s most coveted big man recruits, 6′9″ Charles Rhodes and 6′10″ Walter Sharpe.
Point guard Timmy Bowers graduates, but 5′11″ sophomore replacement Gary Ervin is more explosive and has more natural talent. He’s capable of picking up the slack. Winsome Frazier and Shane Power, who combined for 23 ppg last year, are a very good pair of wings.
Why they won’t win it all: Bowers’ steady hand was one of the key factors for MSU’s success last year. Ervin, in contrast, averaged 2.2 turnovers against 2.5 assists. Not good at all. This team started to slow down toward the end of last year, eventually crashing hard in the second round of the tourney against Xavier. Lawrence Roberts will face largely the same problems that Wayne Simien faces in Kansas, with unproven freshman being the only ones having his back in the paint. Only Roberts doesn’t have near the same talent level around him- nor nearly as highly touted freshman big men- that Simien has.
