Departures: Derrick Nix
Returning Players: Adriean Payne, Keith Appling, Gary Harris, Denzel Valentine, Travis Trice, Branden Dawson, Matt Costello
Newcomers: Gavin Schilling, Alvin Ellis
What to Expect: A lot of destruction. Tom Izzo compared this team to the 2000 National Championship team, and that should be scary for everyone. The team may have the best core in college basketball with Appling, Harris, and Payne. Harris is believed by many to be poised to take another step, which is especially frightening because he was Big Ten Freshman of the year last year. Branden Dawson will be back after starting every game but one last year (that one game coming in an interesting situation at PSU) and will provide the energy, hustle, and strength that leads to great defense and lots of rebounds. The 5th spot will come down to Matt Costello and freshman Gavin Schilling, who has been getting positive reviews from people in East Lansing. Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine will bring high quality depth, just as they did last year.
Storyline to Watch: Gary Harris is projected to be a lottery pick, but he could climb into the top 10 this year. He is quick, smart, a great shooter, and overall an extremely efficient player. He has the ability to thrust his name into National Player of the Year conversation in my opinion, but with such a talented team he may not need to do so.
Final Prediction: 27-3 (15-3)
If Izzo thinks this could be a National Championship team, I agree. They're as talented as anybody and they have experience. Not to mention the chemistry that comes with returning almost all of your major players from last year. We could see the first national championship in East Lansing since that legendary 2000 team. With Izzo as their coach and so much returning talent, this is almost a boring team to preview because their success seems so inevitable and downright obvious.
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