Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball landing transfer Frankie Fidler
1. In landing Frankie Fidler, MSU gets size, shooting and craftiness on the wing
Michigan State’s basketball program on Tuesday landed University of Nebraska Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler — who immediately enters the pantheon of great names in Spartan lore, alongside Napoleon Outlaw, SirDarean Adams and others.
Beyond his stellar name, Fidler fills a significant need on MSU’s roster for a skilled and sizable wing. He’s a 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward who, at the low-major level, was an elite scorer, terrific shot-creator on the drive, a good outside shooter and rebounder and has a real knack for getting to the free-throw line, largely because of the pressure he puts on defenses off the dribble.
He doesn’t drive to the hoop with blinding speed. He’s crafty, knows how to use the dribble and his body to create shot angles and shoots well through contact.
Fidler will be a good player at MSU. The question is how good. This is undoubtedly a step up for him — the Summit League to the Big Ten. We’ve seen players like Brandon Wood, Bryn Forbes and, most recently, Tyson Walker, make similar jumps at MSU in the last dozen years. All three were big-time scorers at their previous school. Wood went from being a 17-point scorer at Valparaiso to a nine-point scorer in his lone season with the Spartans. Forbes dipped from close 16 points per game as a sophomore at Cleveland State to 8.5 as a junior at MSU, before averaging 14.4 as a senior. Walker went from 18.8 as a sophomore at Northeastern to 8.2 in his first season with the Spartans. Then 14.8 and 18.4 in his next two seasons.
Fidler, who averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and shot 36% on 3s as a junior last season, is a bigger athlete than those other three. And that size will help the transition. But it’s unlikely he’ll be MSU’s headliner. That’s fine. That’s not what he’s being brought in to be — you don't want to be in a position where you need a star out of the portal. MSU lacked size and length on the wing last year. He’ll give the Spartans that while also providing them another player comfortable with the ball in his hands in the half-court and someone who can create offense and knock down shots at multiple levels.
And he’ll do something else MSU struggled with this past season — he’ll get to the line and make his free throws. His free-throw rate of more than 56 attempts per 100 field-goal attempts was among the top 100 players in the country, per Kenpom.com. His 7.7 free-throw attempts last season were more than double the average of any player on MSU’s roster and he’s a career 86% free-throw shooter.
Defensively, he was a plus-defender in the Summit League. His length will help. But his offense is where he stands out.
2. How Fidler fits with the Spartans
Landing a skilled wing with size was arguably MSU’s greatest need this offseason. Fidler is not only a good player. He’s an ideal fit considering MSU’s roster next season and areas of potential weakness or at least uncertainty.
The expectation is that senior-to-be Jaden Akins will play more shooting guard next winter than he will the wing. That leaves sophomore Coen Carr, redshirt freshman Gehrig Normand and true freshman Kur Teng as the other options at small forward — all of them, like Akins, 6-5 or under. None of those three are anywhere near as seasoned in the college game as Fidler is.
Carr is a phenomenal athlete, but not yet a player who can create off the dribble or stretch the floor with his shot, at least not at the end of last season. Normand and Teng haven’t played a minute in a Big Ten game, though Normand has a year of practice under his belt.
Fidler is a plug-and-play starter, someone whose diverse offensive game will fit nicely alongside Jeremy Fears Jr. or Tre Holloman and Akins at the guard spots, and with Xavier Booker at power forward. That’s a lot of offensive acumen and skill and shooting. Offensively, that’s potentially a fun and dangerous lineup.
It should also be noted that Fidler is a one-year guy — playing his senior season at MSU. That’s significant in terms of roster building. How do you keep your current team out of the portal, unlike most of the country? Beyond NIL payments, convince them that you’re not giving up on them or recruiting over them. Fidler buys Carr, Normand and others time to become the players MSU needs them to become.
This is about as good a fit is there is out there for a team that has answers at the other forward and guard positions, but also lost a lot of offensive punch from last season.
3. If Fidler is it out of the portal, Izzo is taking a risk
It’s likely that Frankie Fidler is the only transfer the Spartans add this season, meaning they’ll go into next season with one scholarship still available and without any additional help at center.
That’s a risk. Tom Izzo and his staff miscalculated last season in thinking that Mady Sissoko, Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler would be ready and able to hold their own at the center spot in the Big Ten. That was exacerbated by Kohler's foot injury, which ruined most of his season. Izzo seemed to realize that miscalculation during the season. So to run it back — just minus Sissoko, whose role was diminishing — is a risk in a couple ways:
One, if Cooper and Kohler in tandem aren't starting Big Ten-caliber centers this season — perhaps sometimes with Xavier Booker in the middle, too — then MSU will waste any chance it has to contend for anything next season, a fifth straight middling season.
Secondly, Izzo risks losing the trust and faith of his fanbase, which could plainly see the issues at center last season. It would be hard to explain it this time around if it doesn't work. There would be no mulligan, just frustration beyond anything he’s seen to this point.
That said, he’s also trying to juggle roster dynamics that aren’t simple — for every action in the portal these days, there is often a reaction. A year ago it would have been easier to sell Cooper and Kohler that he wasn’t recruiting over them by bringing in another big man. They were sophomores. That gets tougher if you bring in another center when they’re juniors. You also have Booker who will start at power forward and would have lucrative options elsewhere, if he felt like his playing time was at all in question. And then there’s the cost of bringing in a quality big man — perhaps close to $1 million in some cases. How would the rest of MSU’s roster feel about that?
In other words, it’s not as simple as it seems. That said, for a coach who said he was going to restore the program to championship level or “die trying,” standing pat and relying on development of the guys you have — after they weren't ready a year ago — is a dangerous way to live.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State basketball lands transfer Frankie Fidler: 3 quick takes
