I know that it is the year of “strength in figures” for michigan basketball, and this article is not an attempt to undermine this mantra. However, I believe that there is an MSU player who is particularly important for the success of the team this season because of the way they like to play, and it’s Jase Richardson.
Before Tuesday evening’s match with Indiana, the Spartans are n ° 3 in the country in rapid rupture points, with an average of 17.35 points per game in transition. It is not exactly surprising, because Tom Izzo has always been known for this style of play. To their best, his MSU teams play a defense hard, bounce back basketball, then push the ball into transition. This Spartan team is incredible to that, as we can see by the figures. Jeremy fears Jr. is very comfortable during the fast break, and the team is loaded with athletes like Jaden Akins and Coen Carr who like to go out and run. When a team is able to play in transition like this, it makes the offensive much easier to find, rather than having to configure in the half-terrain.
But what happens when the teams remove the fast break? For various reasons, the UCLA, the USC and the Oregon were able to prevent the state of Michigan from going to their fast break. The Spartans were on average only 9.6 points per game in the fast break in these three games, losing two of these three games, and Almost lose the three If it is not the fact that Jase Richardson has completely taken over against Msu against OregonMarking 29 points against the Ducks.
Which brings me to my point. The greatest strength of this Michigan State team is the way they arrive at their rapid break. Conversely, their greatest weakness is when the rapid rupture is interrupted, they find it difficult to produce an offense in the half-habit. Enter Jase Richardson, who has no problem scoring in this situation. Against the USC and the UCLA, Jase did not look right after not having practiced the previous week and being struck in the USC match. I really believe that if Richardson was 100% in these matches, the Spartans would still be undefeated at a conference.
Due to the way this team likes to play, Jase Richardson will be the Factor X the rest of the year. The teams will do everything in their power to stop the quick break from the Spartans, and if they succeed, it is when Izzo will have to press the “Jase Richardson button” and leave it.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Why Jase Richardson is the most important player in the state of Michigan