Michigan State basketball absolutely steamrolled the Binghamton Bearcats last night. Here are three key takeaways from this game.
Michigan State basketball steamrolled the Binghamton Bearcats yesterday 100-47. This game was fresh on the heels of the emotional passing of Zachary Winston, brother of Cassius Winston. Cassius had an absolutely impressive showing as did a few other Spartans.
Here are three key takeaways from this game:
Cassius Winston Is Truly Special
You really cannot say enough about the talent of Cassius Winston. Excellent ball-handling abilities, premier court vision, and a high basketball IQ. Now, you truly cannot say enough about Cassius Winston the human being. Winston played with his teammates less than 24 hours after Zachary’s passing. All the while, his family was in attendance cheering him on.
Not only did Winston play but he did so exceptionally well. He ended the game with 17 points and 11 assists. Not to mention he had a few highlight-reel moves out on the court. This reminded me of NBA player Isaiah Thomas in the 2017 playoffs. Isaiah’s sister tragically passed away in a car accident. Thomas responded with 33 points and nine assists.
I cannot even speak to the strength Winston showed yesterday. The internal fortitude on display was absolutely impressive. Best of all, the Spartans rallied around Winston. I’ll be honest, I was misty all throughout the pregame ceremony.
Marcus Bingham Jr. Is Here
Marcus Bingham ended last year’s season with 23 total points. Through two games, Bingham has tallied up 20 points. Last year, he ended the season with 21 total shots. Through two games, Bingham has totaled 15 shots. So Bingham’s role has clearly grown from one year to the next.
Bingham is certainly taking advantage of his playing time and opportunities. He already has four blocked shots, 12 rebounds, and one assist to boot. Best of all, he brings so much energy to the game. Hustle points near the rim are absolutely invaluable in modern basketball games. He put up 13 points off of the bench and this type of contribution is huge for MSU. Glad to see Bingham thriving in a more prominent role.
Players Finding Their Groove
Three players stood out in this game beyond Cassius and Bingham. This includes Gabe Brown, Rocket Watts, and Thomas Kithier. Kithier was near the rim at all of the right times. This lead to 10 total points for sophomore Forward from Clarkston, MI. Likewise, Gabe Brown looked formidable and made the most out of his 13 minutes of game time.
Now, I know I’m all on the Rocket Watts hype train but I’m here for a reason. Watts only shot 2-9 from the floor, however, taking more shots is the best game plan. Rocket was definitely intimidated by Kentucky’s strong guard rotation. Against Binghamton, he was smooth and calm. His shot will fall as time goes on. The best thing he can do is to just keep shooting.
The most notable player finding his groove was Aaron Henry. Henry ended the night with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Meanwhile, he was guarding almost every position on the other team. Henry needs to do a lot for MSU to go far this year and that is not to discredit the team. Instead, it highlights his importance on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Michigan State plays next on Thursday, Nov. 14 against Seton Hall. The game starts at 8:30 P.M. and you can watch the action on FS1.
As always, stay locked on SpartansWire for more coverage to come.
Wisconsin extends a scholarship in the 2021 class in wide receiver Jaylin Noel.
Wisconsin’s 2020 recruiting class won’t be able to officially sign their letter of intent until the early signing period starting December 18. Wisconsin’s coaching staff still has to fill out the remainder of the 2020 class but that hasn’t prevented them from evaluating and offering prospects from the 2021 class.
On Sunday Wisconsin extended another scholarship offer in the 2021 class to wide receiver Jaylin Noel as Noel was on an unofficial visit to Wisconsin this past weekend to see Wisconsin beat Iowa.
It was Noel’s sixth scholarship offer and third from the Big Ten. Noel from Park High School in Kansas City, Mo. also holds scholarships from Iowa, Minnesota, Iowa State, Kansas State, and South Dakota State.
The wide receiver position could be one of the more heavily populated positions in the 2021 class considering Wisconsin over the next two years is set to lose four scholarship players at the position. Wisconsin currently has two wide receivers committed in the 2020 class as the Badgers in the 2021 class will likely exceed that number to replenish the talent at the position.
Noel is currently unranked by Rivals but he is rated as a three star prospect by 247 Sports. Wisconsin currently has five commitments in the 2021 recruiting class.
Former Chargers linebacker Donnie Edwards has been selected to be the team’s 2019 NFL Salute to Service nominee.
Former Chargers linebacker Donnie Edwards has been selected to be the team’s 2019 NFL Salute to Service nominee, the league announced.
The award, presented annually by USAA and the NFL, honors a league member who demonstrates commitment to honoring and supporting the military community across the country and overseas.
Edwards spent five seasons with the Chargers from 2002-2006. He was twice voted as an All-Pro linebacker and was one of only eight players in the history of the NFL to record 20 interceptions and 20 sacks over a career.
Edwards has founded the Best Defense Foundation that takes World War II veterans and Vietnam Veterans back to their battlefields and memorials so they can pay homage to their fallen brothers who never got a chance to live a full life.
Edwards brought sixteen World War II veterans back to the shores of northern France to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Earlier this year, @DonnieEdwards took several Veterans back to Normandy. Here, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we celebrated ALL Veterans during our annual Honor Our Nation’s Heroes program, highlighting both Heroes. pic.twitter.com/WpMVAEZDX4
Past nominees from the franchise include defensive tackle Sean Lissemore and Alex Spanos. Finalists will be announced in January, and the recipient will be recognized at NFL Honors, a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on Feb. 1, 2019 in Miami, FL, the night before Super Bowl LIV.
Each week, HoopsHype ranks the Top 10 candidates for this season’s Most Valuable Player award. Find out who made this week’s rankings!
Each week, HoopsHype’s staff ranks the Top 10 candidates for this season’s Most Valuable Player award. This list highlights stars who have entered the 2019-20 MVP discussion thanks to their impressive play.
Which stars have stood out thus far? Who can sustain this production as the sample size increases? Here are our latest MVP rankings:
Drummond has been dominant through the first 10 games of the season. It’s impressive when a player has a single 20-point, 20-rebound performance, but the 26-year-old is nearly averaging that. He’s scored 20 or more points in six games, and he’s grabbed 20 or more rebounds in five games. He’s also doing a good job of finding open teammates, as he’s averaging 5.4 assists in November (and he has 25 assists in his last four games). Drummond is posting video-game numbers and shows no sign of slowing down. The Pistons are getting Blake Griffin back from injury, which should only help them as they look to improve their record (4-6) and climb up the Eastern Conference standings.
Towns missed two games due to his suspension for fighting Joel Embiid, but he’s been a beast in the seven contests in which he’s played. He’s posting career-highs across the board and he’s been able to score the ball with ease this season, inside and out. In fact, Towns has more than doubled his three-point attempts (from 4.6 last year to 9.3 this year), yet his three-point percentage has stayed at 40.0 percent. His 3.7 threes per game is fourth in the NBA behind only James Harden (4.3), Damian Lillard (4.0) and Kemba Walker (3.8). Minnesota is currently 5-4, which is ninth-best in the Western Conference and just two games out of first place.
HoopsHype’s Frank Urbina recently wrote a great article breaking down Booker’s impressive start to the season and what he’s doing differently this year. The 23-year-old is playing the most efficient basketball of his career, finishing in the paint better than ever and locking down opponents on the defensive end. Newcomers Aron Baynes and Ricky Rubio have made a huge difference for Booker too. The Suns are the NBA’s biggest surprise thus far, sitting at 6-3 with the league’s third-best offense (scoring 109.1 points per 100 possessions) and ninth-best defense (allowing 101.1 points per 100 possessions). There’s no question that Booker is a huge reason for their early success. The red-hot Suns will face off against the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday in a game that will feature three players from this list.
Harden is once again leading the league in scoring. The main issue for Harden (and the reason he isn’t higher on this list) has been his shooting percentages. He’s currently shooting an ugly 39.4 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from three-point range – both of which are career-lows. It’s taking him 24.2 field goal attempts (and 14.4 three-point attempts) per game to get to his 37.1 scoring average. Those numbers must drastically improve if he wants to compete for this year’s MVP award. There’s always an adjustment period when a team is integrating a new star and that’s what Harden and the Rockets are doing with Russell Westbrook. Still, Houston is 6-3, which is tied for the third-best record in the Western Conference.
There’s a reason LeBron James badly wanted to team up with this guy. Davis is once again filling the stat sheet and making his presence felt all over the court, helping the Lakers win seven of their first nine games. He gives opposing head coaches nightmares, as he’s been the best rim protector in the league and he’s scoring at will. Davis is currently ranked first in Defensive Win Shares (0.9) and third in Win Shares (1.7, tied with James). He’s new to the Lakers and still getting acclimated, but you’d never know it based on his early play. It remains to be seen if voters will dock points from James and/or Davis because they’re on the same team. Opposing teams certainly hate that these two stars teamed up, as they’ve struggled to slow them down thus far.
Lillard is having the best season of his career, but he can only do so much for the Blazers. He’s getting little help from his supporting cast, which is why the Blazers are 4-6 and in 10th place in the Western Conference despite Lillard playing out of his mind. That was on display in Portland’s recent loss to the Brooklyn Nets, when Lillard had 60 points (including 7 threes), 5 assists and 4 rebounds while shooting 57.6 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from deep, but the Nets won 119-115. Injuries have been an issue for the Blazers, but they also have a new-look roster after losing Al-Farouq Aminu, Maurice Harkless, Evan Turner, Meyers Leonard, Enes Kanter and Seth Curry among others. Still, Lillard is averaging the second-most points in the league while also ranking first in Win Shares (2.4) and second in Value Over Replacement Player (1.1).
Leonard’s decision to sit out the nationally televised showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks relaunched the load-management debate. It seems that Leonard will continue to sit out during back-to-backs to ensure that he’s 100 percent for the playoffs. Leonard credits load management for his monster 2019 postseason with the Toronto Raptors and while this is probably a smart move for the Clippers, it likely means Leonard won’t have a shot at winning this year’s MVP award. Voters seem to disqualify players who rest, regardless of how productive they are when they play. HoopsHype looked at the last 15 MVP winners and they missed an average of 3.93 games in their MVP season (with no player missing more than 10 games). Leonard missed 22 games last season and he’s on pace to miss 18 contests this year, which would seemingly remove him from the MVP discussion (like last year). Still, Leonard is playing well and the Clippers are 6-3, which is tied for the third-best record in the West. If the Clippers stop resting Leonard – or the NBA decides that he’s healthy and must play – perhaps he becomes a serious candidate.
Doncic is the only player in the league who currently ranks Top 11 in points per game (sixth), assists per game (second) and rebounds per game (11th). As if Luka’s counting stats weren’t impressive enough, his advanced stats jump off the page as well: Doncic ranks third in Value Over Replacement Player (1.0), fourth in Box Plus/Minus (10.3) and fifth in Win Shares (1.6). The 20-year-old is the youngest player in NBA history to record 10 or more triple-doubles, passing LeBron James and Magic Johnson. He also became the second player with at least three 20-point triple-doubles in the first six games of a season, joining Oscar Robertson. Doncic must continue to limit his turnovers (4.9 per game) and improve his three-point percentage (32.1 percent on 8.7 attempts per game). But that feels like nitpicking when the kid is nearly averaging a triple-double and winning games for the Mavericks, who are 6-3 (which is tied for the third-best record in the West).
Antetokounmpo had an MVP performance in the Bucks’ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. After struggling in the first half, Antetokounmpo ripped his jersey and kicked a hole in a Thunder sign while walking back to the locker room at halftime. In the second half, MVP Giannis showed up and he finished the game with 35 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 threes, 1 block and 1 steal while shooting an efficient 68.4 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three-point range. Antetokounmpo has now scored 30 or more points in five-straight games. The Bucks are 7-3, which puts them in third place in the Eastern Conference and just one game back from the top-seeded Boston Celtics. Antetokounmpo currently leads all players in Value Over Replacement Player (1.3), Box Plus/Minus (13.9) and Win Shares Per 48 Minutes (.325).
As Tommy Beer of Forbes recently pointed out, no player in NBA history has ever averaged more than 7.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in their age-35 season. Well, James is currently posting those marks with ease (24.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 11.0 assists). When all is said and done, one could make the argument that James was the best teenager in NBA history (he holds the NBA record for most career points, rebounds and assists before turning 20 years old) and the best mid-30s player in NBA history (if he keeps this up). LeBron’s longevity is remarkable; in the load-management era, he’s playing 35.1 minutes per game, which is the most of any Laker and 12th-most in the league. James is currently No. 1 on this list because his individual production has been impressive and it’s translated into team success, as the Lakers currently have the NBA’s second-best record at 7-2. One area where James must improve is his three-point shooting; he’s attempting 5.2 threes per game, but he’s making just 31.9 percent thus far.
Two talented teams meet in Boston Monday when Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks visit TD Garden to take on the surging Celtics. While it’s certainly way too early to proclaim anything wild, at the rate these two teams have opened the season, we could possibly be seeing an NBA Finals preview.
The Mavs have enjoyed a bright start to the season, opening with a very nice 6-3 record. The story of their opening stretch has to be the play of second-year phenom Luka Doncic. The Slovenian guard is percentage points away from averaging a triple-double through nine games this season. With 28.1 PPG, 10.4 RPG and 9.2 APG to his name, the youngster is becoming one of the must-see names in the entire league. If he continues on this pace, there’s a strong chance he’ll be mentioned heavily when the talk of NBA MVP heats up later in the season. Doncic put up 24 points and 14 rebounds in a 138-122 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.
While Dallas has impressed early on, the Celtics are only one of two teams with just one loss so far this season. A 7-1 start has to be extremely satisfying for Boston fans after losing their most high-profile player, Kyrie Irving, via free agency in the offseason. A 135-115 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday will do nothing to quell their enthusiasm. Jalen Brown’s 30 points along with Kemba Walker’s 26-point effort led the way for the C’s. However, it wasn’t all good news. Gordon Hayward’s unfortunate injury streak continued in the game, fracturing his hand in the win. It’s not yet known how long he’ll be out for, but he’ll be sorely missed. Hayward averaged 20.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists through seven games.
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