Three positions Michigan State basketball needs to address in the transfer portal
Michigan State basketball’s season came to a close on Sunday in a crushing loss at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans took a step forward from a year ago, having a much-improved record and making it further in the NCAA Tournament. Now, it is time for the Spartans to make the next leap and put themselves in championship contention once again.
To take that next step, the Spartans need to make some slight adjustments to the roster.
In this exercise, I am going to presume all three Spartan seniors, Gabe Brown, Marcus Bingham Jr. and Joey Hauser, will move on. I also assume Max Christie is going to stay for a second season, as is expected.
Center
The first, and most important, position Tom Izzo and his staff need to upgrade in the transfer portal is center. While Marcus Bingham gave the Spartans adequate play at the position, he wasn’t consistent and usually didn’t have the stamina to go more than 20 minutes in a night, causing problems for MSU.
While Julius Marble could spell Bingham and give the Spartans a boost on the offensive end, his skills on the defensive end were lacking. Many of the problems MSU had on the defensive end were due to a lack of rim protection and post defense.
Finding a starting-caliber center who can improve the Spartans on both the ends of the floors can drastically raise their ceiling next season.
Versatile Wing
Michigan State is losing Gabe Brown to graduation. The wing position was already thin for MSU, which relied on heavy minutes from Max Christie and Brown. Jaden Akins will be ready to take a step forward next season to fill Gabe’s void as will Pierre Brooks after having an offseason to mature.
In a perfect world, Michigan State will find a versatile wing to fill the void Brown is leaving: a player who is a tough defender, can shoot the 3 and create off the bounce. The versatility to play the 3 and 4 (small forward and power forward) positions would be an added bonus.
Michigan State has already reached out to West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges, who would fit perfectly. Be on the lookout for more names to pop up that fit this mold.
Stretch 4
This would be a luxury more than a necessity, but the Spartans certainly have a need. Tom Izzo’s offense heavily involves the power forward position and uses the versatility of the power forward in many ways.
MSU has only Malik Hall to play that position. Given the consistency problems Hall had down the stretch of this season, I am not too confident he can carry the load for 30 minutes a night. Incoming freshman Jaxon Kohler should also possess the ability to give MSU 8-10 minutes in the role.
Whether its Joey Hauser deciding he wants to come back for an extra year of eligibility (because of COVID-19), or the transfer portal, someone who can play the 4 spot could be very useful for MSU in 2022-23.
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