Michigan State Basketball: Nick Ward impressing the most?
Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo has been thoroughly impressed with freshman big man Nick Ward.
Michigan State basketball is going to lean on guards this year. The 2016-17 season is going to be an interesting one strictly because the amount of talented guards on the roster trumps that of post players.
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The incoming freshman class has four-star Nick Ward who can take care of part of the issue in the post to go along with Kenny Goins, Gavin Schilling and UNLV transfer Ben Carter. Heck, Mile Bridges will have to play down low, here and there, instead of on the wing at all times.
With offseason workouts well underway, Tom Izzo shocked some folks when he claimed that the biggest surprise of Michigan State’s elite 2016 recruiting class has been Ward.
Tom Izzo told @CBSSports that Nick Ward has been the biggest surprise thus far out of Michigan State's recruiting class.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 6, 2016
Ward was ranked the No. 41 overall prospect in the country as well as the 12th-best power forward, reigning from Columbus, Ohio, but he was the No. 4 in the Spartans’ 2016 class of four commits. Although he would be an elite, top-notch prospect on any other team, he was the fourth-best rated in MSU’s class.
Still, he has managed to open the eyes of his head coach, in a good way, and that might mean he will see the court extensively this year — as he should.
Standing 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, Ward has the frame to make an impact against other Big Ten post players. The Spartans may have a diamond in the very short rough in Ward and he could be an all-conference performer in 2016-17.
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