To the Malik haters:

[dawgatUSM]

Malik has been up and down this year. No one doubts that. However, it says a lot about a man to come into a losing team, not play as well as he knows he can, and not become a drama queen. Newman has been nothing but a team guy throughout this whole season.

Last night he actually had a really good first half running the point. The second half he made a big bucket and got fouled in the middle of cramping.

I say all this to say, talent-wise, we are starving outside of Malik and Q and Ware right now. Let's enjoy what we have right now and look forward to the future

 

[Drewbowski]

I think Malik is a victim of lofty expectations that everyone had for him before he set foot on campus. I am super excited for Q and am looking forward to next year. I just hope we could somehow break .500 for the Stans trio of Ware, Chicken, and Fred Thomas.

 

[aTotal360]

Maybe I've missed it, but I haven't seen many Malik haters. Is saying he isn't ready for the NBA considered "hating"?

 

[KurtRambis4]

I think there's been

more than a few posters that have called him a drama queen, for whatever reason.

 

[archdog]

Malik has been up and down this year. No one doubts that. However, it says a lot about a man to come into a losing team, not play as well as he knows he can, and not become a drama queen. Newman has been nothing but a team guy throughout this whole season.

Last night he actually had a really good first half running the point. The second half he made a big bucket and got fouled in the middle of cramping.

I say all this to say, talent-wise, we are starving outside of Malik and Q and Ware right now. Let's enjoy what we have right now and look forward to the future

I have seen some comments that were snarky against Malik. Everyone needs to cut the crap and support this guy. Yeah he has had a rough year. We all expected him to be Westbrook out there. Well he is a freshman. Hopefully he works on adjusting his game to the better talent he is playing right now and we see him take a big step next year.

 

[Philly Dawg]

Some have questioned his effort level among other things.

 

[121Josey]

To the Malik haters: Malik has been up and down this year. No one doubts that.

But if you were a Malik hater from the beginning and said that his performance in the McDonald's All-American game would be ominous for his freshman year, we'd be saying how right you were.

 

[Shamoan]

i dont think there is any HATE going toward him. the talent is there. i think everyone knows we are very fortunate to have malik, but as others have said, with a 5* coming in, the expectations are high especially considering his prenrollment NBA potential, but its going to take some time to adjust. we have seen spurts of greatness. just give it time.

 

[mstateglfr]

1- agreed on Malik. The expectations and therefore the disappointment some have placed on Newman is nuts. I expected him to be better at getting into the lane, but he clearly hasnt developed that part of his game. I didnt expect Q to be as good as he has been. Its been a couple of surprises. Super. For those who are still so disappointed- accept it and move on with where they are right now instead of where you expected them to be.

2- Ill never understand why Sword is excluded when posters mention who we have for talent. Yup, Sword has limitations. All of em have limitations, its why we havent been to the postseason in a few years. But Sword plays hard and is effective. He can get to the rim and finish, especially in fast break situations. He plays a ton of help D which says something about those he is out on the court with since he is forced to help so much.

3- The first person to run over to Q after that made basket was Newman. He had a huge smile on his face. Seems like he wants to win and is happy for the success of others and the team.

 

[Junction John]

They said last night we've lost 8 games by 6 or less...

I just hope we could somehow break .500 for the Stans trio of Ware, Chicken, and Fred Thomas.

From where we have come, it's amazing how close this team was to doing that.

 

[FlotownDawg]

Newman and Howland themselves are the reason for Malik's high expectations

From the beginning, Howland said Malik was a sure-fire one and done, and Malik's plan from the beginning was to be in the NBA next year. When you have your own coach saying a player is an NBA talent who will be in the league next year, of course there are high expectations. By those expectations, set by Howland himself, Malik's season has been a disappointment. He definitely needs to come back to school next year. Right now, his inside game is weak, and most of his drives to the baskets either end in misses or blocked shots. He also needs to continue to learn the point guard spot, which is apparently what his position would be in the NBA. Yes, there are flashes of greatness there, but he needs to put that together consistently. An offseason working with Howland to improve those parts of his game should make a world of difference. If he stays next year, I think we will see a completely different player. Him going to the NBA this year would be a big mistake, IMO.

 

[msstate7]

From where we have come, it's amazing how close this team was to doing that.

We lost 9 by 6 points or less last year.

 

[KurtRambis4]

Would the McD's ASG be the beginning?

*

 

[rugbdawg]

At this point, we had more wins last year.

Havinv said that, I think we finish better this year. At least, I hope so. We need Malik to get his shot back.

 

[maroonmania]

Malik has been up and down this year. No one doubts that. However, it says a lot about a man to come into a losing team, not play as well as he knows he can, and not become a drama queen. Newman has been nothing but a team guy throughout this whole season.

Last night he actually had a really good first half running the point. The second half he made a big bucket and got fouled in the middle of cramping.

I say all this to say, talent-wise, we are starving outside of Malik and Q and Ware right now. Let's enjoy what we have right now and look forward to the future

Why in the world would an MSU fan start a thread with the title you chose? LOTS of MSU fans question whether he should be a one and done based on his level of performance but I'm not aware of any "Malik haters" anywhere among the fan base. I would hope we are all still delighted he chose us when he could have gone anywhere in America. Just because he hasn't lived up to the expectations of some doesn't change the fact we are more than glad he is part of our program. If he does come back next year its just going to make us that much stronger with all of the other talent coming in.

 

[aTotal360]

Put nothing past our fanbase.

 

[Rog.sixpack]

At this point, is our 2015-16 schedule exactly the same as the 2014-15 one?

If not, its apples to oranges and thus a poor argument to attempt to make.

 

[rugbdawg]

There is a difference between effort level in practice/games and work ethic.

You can play hard and practice hard but not have a great work ethic. I.E. I'll bust my *** in the games and in practice but when coach isn't looking I'm going to eat 145 cheeseburgers (Sidney). I'm working so hard but I'm not getting in shape or losing weight...I don't know coach.

Malik needs to have an elite work ethic to become the player he wants to be. He doesn't have that quite yet.

An example: Dak Prescott. Dak is not an elite, athletic specimen. He isn't the fastest. He isn't the smartest. He isn't the quickest. He doesn't have the best arm. His athletic abilities are really good, don't get me wrong, but certainly not elite. His work ethic IS. He worked out by himself his entire career at State (or with one or two guys) which was above and beyond his practice time at State. He is going to have a long career in the NFL unless he is injured.

That's what I want Malik to be and, frankly, that's what he is gonna have to be in order to have any type of long term career in the NBA. He isn't an ELITE talent. He is really really good but not elite. Remember the "Be Like Mike" Gatorade slogan? That wasn't about flying through the air like Jordan. It was about working your *** off like Jordan and chasing your dreams. Never being satisfied with being good but always seeking that ever elusive perfection.

 

[mstateglfr]

Remember the "Be Like Mike" Gatorade slogan? That wasn't about flying through the air like Jordan. It was about working your *** off like Jordan and chasing your dreams. Never being satisfied with being good but always seeking that ever elusive perfection.

Um...pretty sure it was about flying thru the air like Jordan. Drink this sugar water and you can be like a generational all star since he drinks it too.

The Jordan vs Bird McDonalds commercial was about how a couple of all time greatest basketball players love McDonalds so much they would play an insane game of HORSE for food, so you should also eat McDonalds.

Early 90s sports figure commercials were as awesome as they were simplistic.

 

[KurtRambis4]

Rugby catches another one**

*

 

[rugbdawg]

Fairly close. Average RPI of our first 25 games last year was 132. First 25 games this year...151. If you take out Miami (9) and Texas Tech (34) it's even closer.