Pronounced KEE-bler
Today, a closer look at just how Mike Kebler has gone from there to here. There being a well-rounded athlete – a throwback of sorts who had a variety of interests rather than one obsessive interest like you see more and more today – with barely any basketball recruiting profile. Here being a key player for MSU in the past few games and from now on, taking Korie Lucious’ minutes and doing good things with them.
I got into a little flap with some commenters the other day after the Minnesota game, who argued with my claim that Kebler had played well in the Minnesota game. The argument was that Chip Armelin was blowing by him at will.
So I checked the tape (those 9 p.m. starts on deadline tend to limit the ability to absorb things at the time), and my goodness those people are full of it. Armelin – who is very quick – got by Kebler once with a nice head fake, Kebler recovered but was called for a foul. Armelin made a free throw for Minnesota’s only point in the final 4:30.
Armelin scored one basket on Kebler, getting a back screen from Trevor Mbakwe, who was being guarded at the time by Draymond Green. Armelin used it to cut across the lane, got a pass and scored ahead of Kebler and Green. Not sure if that was a communication issue or not, but that basket’s on Green and Kebler.
Other than that? No one scored on the guy. He bodied Ralph Sampson III. He spent some time on Rodney Williams. He did a great job on Blake Hoffarber, then did a the same in every other instance on Armelin – including the clinching stop, falling down then recovering to contest a 3-pointer, grabbing that rebound, getting hit and making the clinching foul shots.
But that’s just the stuff that’s easy to see. What’s harder to see is Kebler’s contributions as a team defender. Sliding to just the right spot to dig or help a teammate against a driver, while staying aware of his guy. That, more than on-the-ball defense, is what Summers has struggled with over the years. Losing awareness and giving up a look when the ball is reversed to his side.
“I think what really went to hell for a while was our off-ball defense,” Tom Izzo said of MSU's recent six-game stretch of bad defense. “It’s the off-the-ball that is harder to see with the naked eye and it creates lot of problems. (Kebler) helps that some.”
Offensively, MSU can’t play 4 on 5. It looks like Kebler is starting to gain some confidence. If he does, he can shoot it. Over the summer, he made 100 3-pointers in 114 attempts in a shooting drill. The only guy who topped that was Summers, doing it in 111.
It’s probably not realistic to expect too much from Kebler on that end, but his coaches have been saying for a while that he has the ability to be a player at this level.
“I think he realized he could play,” Mike Vorkapich said of the big jump in strength Kebler made in the summer of 2009. “They told him, ‘If you make a commitment, you can play here.’ I’d hear from assistants here and there, ‘If that kid would work at his game, he could be a hell of a player.’”
Some people don’t want to believe it. But hey, some people were still wondering why Blair White was playing so much well into his senior season.
Also on the “Kebrakos” front, he and Delvon Roe faced off in our annual trivia challenge.
And here’s today's tipoff. I’m sticking with my pick after the Ohio State game that MSU would win this game. The matchups will be intriguing. Again, if I’m MSU I put Keith Appling on Lewis Jackson to limit his dribble drive. I put Kebler/Summers on Moore. Lucas will see both at times, no doubt. But I’d try to keep him on Ryne Smith, you can’t let that guy have open looks. And that’s a wear-and-tear approach for Lucas, who is probably looking at another 39 minutes or so. But I have no idea if the MSU coaches are thinking the same thing. The only thing I know is, this will be a great environment (today is a "White Out" in case you haven't heard), and the game should match it.
So I checked the tape (those 9 p.m. starts on deadline tend to limit the ability to absorb things at the time), and my goodness those people are full of it. Armelin – who is very quick – got by Kebler once with a nice head fake, Kebler recovered but was called for a foul. Armelin made a free throw for Minnesota’s only point in the final 4:30.
Armelin scored one basket on Kebler, getting a back screen from Trevor Mbakwe, who was being guarded at the time by Draymond Green. Armelin used it to cut across the lane, got a pass and scored ahead of Kebler and Green. Not sure if that was a communication issue or not, but that basket’s on Green and Kebler.
Other than that? No one scored on the guy. He bodied Ralph Sampson III. He spent some time on Rodney Williams. He did a great job on Blake Hoffarber, then did a the same in every other instance on Armelin – including the clinching stop, falling down then recovering to contest a 3-pointer, grabbing that rebound, getting hit and making the clinching foul shots.
But that’s just the stuff that’s easy to see. What’s harder to see is Kebler’s contributions as a team defender. Sliding to just the right spot to dig or help a teammate against a driver, while staying aware of his guy. That, more than on-the-ball defense, is what Summers has struggled with over the years. Losing awareness and giving up a look when the ball is reversed to his side.
“I think what really went to hell for a while was our off-ball defense,” Tom Izzo said of MSU's recent six-game stretch of bad defense. “It’s the off-the-ball that is harder to see with the naked eye and it creates lot of problems. (Kebler) helps that some.”
Offensively, MSU can’t play 4 on 5. It looks like Kebler is starting to gain some confidence. If he does, he can shoot it. Over the summer, he made 100 3-pointers in 114 attempts in a shooting drill. The only guy who topped that was Summers, doing it in 111.
It’s probably not realistic to expect too much from Kebler on that end, but his coaches have been saying for a while that he has the ability to be a player at this level.
“I think he realized he could play,” Mike Vorkapich said of the big jump in strength Kebler made in the summer of 2009. “They told him, ‘If you make a commitment, you can play here.’ I’d hear from assistants here and there, ‘If that kid would work at his game, he could be a hell of a player.’”
Some people don’t want to believe it. But hey, some people were still wondering why Blair White was playing so much well into his senior season.
Also on the “Kebrakos” front, he and Delvon Roe faced off in our annual trivia challenge.
And here’s today's tipoff. I’m sticking with my pick after the Ohio State game that MSU would win this game. The matchups will be intriguing. Again, if I’m MSU I put Keith Appling on Lewis Jackson to limit his dribble drive. I put Kebler/Summers on Moore. Lucas will see both at times, no doubt. But I’d try to keep him on Ryne Smith, you can’t let that guy have open looks. And that’s a wear-and-tear approach for Lucas, who is probably looking at another 39 minutes or so. But I have no idea if the MSU coaches are thinking the same thing. The only thing I know is, this will be a great environment (today is a "White Out" in case you haven't heard), and the game should match it.
