MSU Red Cedar Message Board

Appling is improving enough at pg that I would bet the farm on Appling/Harris 1/2 next year. Valentine is a swiss Army knife player, 1, 2, or 3. Like Green is a power forward/surrogate secondary pg, I suspect Valentine will backup Dawson and be a small forward/surrogate secondary pg and maybe some minutes at the 2, playing like a shooting guard/surrogate secondary pg. Should Appling and Trice both get into foul trouble or one gets injured next yr... Valentine will be nice to have as a pg option. After next year, lookout... it would not surprise me to see Valentine end up at pg at all down the road.

The two fouls were terrible plays defensively, really boneheaded. They cost us 5 points and put us in a bad situation. That said, nailing every FT down the stretch was clutch and helped to make up for the errors.

As for the T, it was yet another terrible call by an official who should have retired 5 years ago. I thought Appling did the right thing holding onto the rim and swinging himself back. He didn't know where the defenders that he had just blown past were and risked putting himself on his back if he let go immediately with all the momentum he had. That said, these guys need to learn not to do anything remotely controversial around Burr.

That's where you and I will disagree... and I think that is where part of the criticism is coming from.

Honestly, he doesnt have that far to go. He has shown the potential and at times he is everything you need form the position and more. He just needs to learn to do it consistently.

Appling is a 1. That ship has sailed, particularly since Harris arrives to play the 2. Appling is also our best defensive player, despite last night's struggles.

I happen to like Trice, and he has been a pleasant surprise.
That said, much like many people said before he got here, he does have certain athletic and size liabilities at this level.
I suspect Trice playing major minutes next year will result in MSU having a certain ceiling that doesnt equate with making major national noise. That is why i suspect he wont.
My guess is that Trice will continue to be more of a role player going forward,and will be soon or in the near future be overtaken by others in the backcourt.
No slam on the kid, he is solid, just not elite starters minutes good at a place like here. Great role player and spot minutes logger. Great guy to have on the roster.

I think Appling has actually been much more effective at the one because he is so good in transition. I want the ball in his hands on the break rather than having him run the wing. Trice has better vision but doesn't have as much ability in terms of getting into the lane and has shot the ball extremely well this year.

I think it's awfully early to judge Trice and his long term potential, he is a true freshman after all and he's clearly a 4 year player. He doesn't appear to have elite athleticism, but he is a smart kid with a good mind for the game, he's a coach's son, and he has been surprisingly effective when healthy.

You're probably right that he'll get overtaken by some of the studs we have coming in, but I wouldn't count him out either. Point guards who know the game, watch a ton of film and can run efficient offenses don't necessarily need Kalin-level speed and quickness. I see him getting decent minutes throughout his career.

Both were bonehead plays, no question. The bottom line is we won the game and Appling will learn from those mistakes.

Point guards that arent quick, arent athletic, dont have good size and are cerebral end up at places like Hope or Calvin. That is what you are describing.
I like the kid and think he will help, but i think it unlikely he will ever run the point guard position here as a starter and major contributor. Great guy to have to be sure. But a solid role player at the end of the day.

This. The whiny little bitches of tRCMB always need a scapegoat, even after a win. The whole team played down to the Gophers' level last night, and you can't blame Appling for that.

Yeah, Keith gave up a whopping 5 points ( ) on 2 fouls. He also had 5 assists and no turnovers. Thornton went 0-5 and jacked up a couple pretty ill-advised 3's. Green and Nix were missing layups like it was their job. Nobody was rebounding. Ya'll haters just need to shut the fuck up and move on.