EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo expects this extended rotation at power forward, with four different players seeing playing time, to continue for the time being for Michigan State.
But Malik Hall wants to make sure he keeps the spot he’s now earned at the beginning of that rotation.
The freshman made his first career start on Sunday in Michigan State’s win over Minnesota as part of a lineup shuffle.
He earned solid reviews for his seven-point, six-rebound performance in 20 minutes of play in helping his team to an 18-point road win. Now, he plans on building off that performance to remain in Michigan State’s starting lineup.
“I see this as a chance and an opportunity to solidify my spot for years to come,” Hall said on Monday after a Michigan State walk-through. “I just want to make the most of what I can do right now, no matter what it is I have to do, rebound, defense, make sure I don’t mess up on coverages, if I have to knock down shots. Do whatever I can to stay in that role.”
Hall said that as of Monday he expected to still be in the lineup when Michigan State plays at home on Wednesday against Northwestern.
Hall was inserted into the lineup on Sunday along with Rocket Watts in part to help the Spartans remedy the slow starts that have plagued them on the road.
In that regard, Hall was successful, as he scored Michigan State’s first basket of the game and recorded its first rebound. Michigan State led by as many at 10 points in the first half.
“We were just talking about faster starts, I just wanted to go in, do my job and help everybody else, whether that’s rebounding, playing defense, helping getting stops, whatever,” Hall said.
Hall is now the third player to start at power forward for Michigan State this season. Thomas Kithier started the first six games of the season before giving way to Marcus Bingham, who started the next 13 games. In all, Michigan State has now started six different lineups this year.
Izzo insisted that the total minutes between those three will be affected little by the starting lineup change, which was done in part to help alleviate conditioning issues for Bingham.
The Spartans will still use Bingham for his rim-protecting ability and Kithier for his cerebral play. Julius Marble has also carved out a role as the forward who can play with the most physicality.
But Hall has proven he can be a strong shooter, when he made three 3’s at Seton Hall, and also brings the most versatility to the position of the Spartans’ forward options. On Friday at Indiana, the Spartans needed a lineup with more size to counteract Indiana’s personnel. That led Izzo to insert Hall as a small forward for the first time all season.
Hall said he was comfortable on the defensive end in a new position, while offense proved an adjustment.
“Offensively it’s a whole lot different, more plays and lane running,” Hall said. “I think for the most part that was the only part that got to me.”
Even when he’s playing at his typical position, Hall said figuring out where he fits in in the Spartans’ offense has taken time.
“I’m still finding my role, what shots to take, what shots not to take,” Hall said. “Some of that comes with my consistency with shooting, just being able to knock down the shots when I’m open, and I think that for the most part is all that is.”
But he plans on continuing to figure that out from the beginning of games now.
“It was an amazing feeling, dreamed about it since I was a kid,” Hall said of earning his first start. “To be able to do it and help my team get a win was a great feeling.”
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January 28, 2020 at 06:08PM
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Malik Hall hopes to solidify his spot in Michigan State’s starting lineup - MLive.com
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