Looking forward...

What a kick it is to see that MSU could be at the top of next year’s hoops rankings. (A Sports Illustrated columnist and Dick Vitale have us in the top five.) And, I see lots of reason for excitement:

2009-2010 Seniors: Raymar Morgan will be back and, of course, skill will not be his challenge. This year he improved his on-court persona and the attitude he projects. His tendency to look and act whiny last year definitely backed off in the past few months. He also seems to be getting a handle now on how to passionately attack what he can influence on the court, and how to blow off the rest. Hope so. The other seniors-to-be are still an early work in progress, of course.

Juniors: Lucas, Summers, and Allen should make up a heck of a core class as juniors. Yes, Chris Allen has struggled with inconsistency, but he has streaks of 3’s that keep me believing he’s still working through the kind of malaise Suton had as a sophomore. When he’s clicking he can do a lot of damage in a hurry. From the perspective of the competition, this trio is going to be a nightmare to contain in ‘09-‘10. Herzog? He knows he’s got to get all over the weights or get banged out the door in the Big Ten.

Sophomores: I like Roe, Luscious, and Green enormously. They were solid contributors this year on a team with such deep talent. If they improve as much as their immediate predecessors did this year as sophomores then, “Wow!”  Austin Thornton is a personal favorite for having gone to high school in Cedar Springs, where I attended middle school.  He’s killer at the free-throw line and has a nice stoke when open, but needs to learn to deal with the speed of the game on both offense and defense.

Freshman: I’m also looking forward to our seeing our two new centers and what inside strength they’ll represent by the Big Ten season. Dion Sims has intrigued me for a long time for both football and basketball. I get the impression this is one fantastic athlete who will leave his mark in a big way at MSU. He may be the kind of intimidating presence our last grid-iron-and-hoops guy Matt Trannon was…cool guy to plug into a line-up to be sure.

Finally, something tells me we may have gotten the better deal with Jamil Wilson headed to Oregon, which sounds like he picked a school where there would be little internal competition (or program stability) and an opportunity to star for a couple of years, and he can then jump to the NBA. Why Oregon, if for basketball and not the scenery? His decision suggests he was not what we need at MSU in the big picture…been there, endured that with flashes in the pan who then depart quickly.

Anyway, there’s just a whole lot to look forward to in our “just wait till next year” moment. What’s it kick up in your minds?