It appears as if most of the dust has settled when it
comes to which Michigan and Michigan State players are entering the NBA Draft.
Though Adreian Payne has yet to make his decision official,
most signs point to Payne returning to the Spartans for his senior season.
If that is indeed the case, we can now start to take a
look at how the Spartans and Wolverines are shaping up for the 2013-14 season.
The Spartans are largely the same team coming back from
this past season, with the exception of the loss of Derrick Nix. Despite the
loss of Nix, you can probably expect some development from the likes of Matt
Costello and Branden Dawson.
Costello showed some signs of being a capable player once
he shook the freshman nerves. Dawson has always been a great athlete, but he
struggled this year with his touch on offense. Part of that could have been
from coming off the knee injury. With a healthy offseason to improve his shot
and work on his touch around the basket, I think Dawson should become a much
better player.
The Spartans should also get some improvement out of the
likes of Gary Harris, Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine. It is unclear if Keith
Appling has hit his peak, but he certainly has shown the ability to be one of
the best players in the Big Ten at times.
When it comes to Michigan, the Wolverines have a strong
foundation returning with the trio of freshmen starters coming back. Nik
Stuaskas, Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary will each need to step up in
terms of offensive production with the loss of Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr.
I was surprised that Hardaway Jr. decided to go pro, just
because I think he would have benefited from a year of being “the guy” for
Michigan.
Along with the starters, Michigan will have Spike
Albrecht, Caris LeVert, Jon Horford and Jordan Morgan back to help contribute.
I think Morgan struggled all year due to his injuries, so a healthy Morgan
could have a much greater impact.
The Wolverines will have to rely more on their incoming
freshmen class than MSU. Part of that is because the Spartans don’t have much
of a class and the other part is that the Wolverines will need help at point
guard from Derrick Walton. Zak Irvin could also make an immediate impact at
small forward.
Of the two teams, I think the bigger question marks come
from Michigan. Will the loss of Burke be too great to overcome? Not only did he
handle the ball and do the most scoring, he also did a good job of getting open
looks for his teammates. McGary’s strong tournament run was aided by Burke, so
it will be interesting to see if McGary can still be an offensive force if he
has to create his own shots.
Both teams seem to be set for a good 2013-14 season, but
it is unclear just how successful they will be.
Who do you think is primed to have the better 2013-14
season if the teams are built the way they currently are?
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