NCAA Basketball: Top 25 frontcourts for 2020-21 season
By Ian Mumm
. . Spartans . 3. team. 486.
Michigan State stands to put forth a much younger team on the court in 2020, especially with the loss of reliable big man Xavier Tillman this offseason. Tillman’s early departure to the NBA was a direct result of a productive 13.7-point and 10.4-rebound season that saw him take full advantage of being the main frontcourt weapon.
His veteran presence, defensive production, and leadership are going to be missed on this year’s squad, but Coach Izzo has a very talented group to lean on. In fact, this year’s crop of frontcourt players may give the Spartans a more dynamic look once the games begin.
The star of the 2020 group is junior Marquette transfer Joey Hauser, who was very efficient in his lone season with the Golden Eagles. Hauser tallied nearly 10 points per game, with 42.5% from the perimeter, while taking a third of the shots Markus Howard attempted.
His ability to stretch the floor at his position, along with his overall production and efficiency, isn’t an aspect the Spartans have seen on the roster since Jaren Jackson Jr. in 2017-18. Hauser will be an important piece to help improve the play of both the Spartans’ young pair of point guards, as well as providing space for the team’s less rangy frontcourt players to operate in the paint.
A notable benefactor of this extra spacing could be junior Marcus Bingham, as he looks to finally break through into a more prominent role with the team. Bingham struggled to carve out expanded minutes, despite an open opportunity to back up Tillman in the starting lineup.
His size and experience with the program have to look attractive to Coach Izzo with such a young group on the roster. Freshman forward Julius Marble was more effective scoring the ball, even though his opportunities were much more limited and the second-year player should compete for more minutes in 2020.
However, it was fellow freshman Malik Hall that outplayed Bingham in every category and received more playing time. Hall may not get the starting gig immediately, due to Hauser’s presence, but he enters the season as a major factor in the rotation with the potential to command a starting role by the middle of the season.
The final piece capable of carving out a similar portion of the rotational minutes is incoming freshman Mady Sissoko. The top-40 player is the best physical frontcourt option to replicate Tillman’s dominance from last season, but his inexperience at the college level may delay his impact in receiving starting minutes from Izzo. However, his skills aren’t going to be silenced for long and Sissoko will make his presence felt on both ends of the floor.
The Spartans have a collective group capable of matching up with any team this season.