Transfer Brandon Wood brings backcourt......

[valpospartan]

.....leadership to Michigan State, his fourth college. Check out this article about Wood, from Mlive.com.
Tom Izzo doesn't really care for the transfer rule , and neither does Homer. 

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2011/10/transfer_brandon_wood_brings_b.html

[sectionee]

Thanks for sharing...I wonder how he found out about the rule in the first place.

[agibson]

Nice piece.  Sounds like he's off to a great start.  I may have to watch a few MSU games, along the way.

A few juicy bits:

Izzo said he isn't particularly fond of the rule because it worries him that some coaches will make a practice of snagging graduated students from other schools.

But he viewed this case differently, he said, because Valparaiso coach Homer Drew was involved in the process from its genesis and the decision was entirely Wood's.

That, and Wood was considering two other destinations — Purdue and
Tennessee — and Izzo decided it was "either play with him or play against him."

"It's nice to have a guy with experience that's graduated and has a maturity level that he has," Izzo said. "If you spend some time with the guy, you're going to love him. He is very mature."

Homer... nice to a fault?

And,

"I experienced three different styles of college coaches before I came here," Wood said. "I experienced the hard-nosed coaches, the laid-back coaches, the upbeat coaches. I feel like I experienced a lot."

[wh]

.....leadership to Michigan State, his fourth college. Check out this article about Wood, from Mlive.com.
Tom Izzo doesn't really care for the transfer rule , and neither does Homer. 

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2011/10/transfer_brandon_wood_brings_b.html

I'm not sure either Izzo and Homer are the right messengers in saying they don't like the transfer rule for players who have graduated.  Isso reminds me of representatives in Congress who claimed that "earmarks" were terrible when they were part of the government spending process, but took them anyway because if they didn't someone else would.  Homer got burned by it when Brandon left, but then turned around and offered a scholarship to Will Bogan who left Ole Miss under the same loophole.  And remember, the supposed purpose of the rule is to allow players to seek a Master's Degree not offered at their current university.  Does anyone honestly believe that little Valpo U. offers a Master's program that great big Ole Miss doesn't?       

[vu84v2]

Theology?

[wh]

Theology?

You're probably right about that, although it doesn't apply in this situation.  According to Bogan's bio, he is working on his MBA.  By the way, personally I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about the rule.  I was simply pointing out that it seems a little shall we say inconsistent that Homer and Isso are complaining about it when both took full advantage of it to better their respective teams.  As to Will Bogan, frankly I don't care how he got here.  I'm just glad he's here.  He's going to do nothing but make us better.  Good for him, good for us.  

[valpospartan]

Theology?

You're probably right about that, although it doesn't apply in this situation.  According to Bogan's bio, he is working on his MBA.  By the way, personally I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about the rule.  I was simply pointing out that it seems a little shall we say inconsistent that Homer and Isso are complaining about it when both took full advantage of it to better their respective teams.  As to Will Bogan, frankly I don't care how he got here.  I'm just glad he's here.  He's going to do nothing but make us better.  Good for him, good for us. 

I don't think IZZo nor Homer were "complaining", but rather just stating their opinions of the rule.

[valpopal]

Like our new guys, Edwards and Bogan, Brandon had a rather quiet first exhibition game for the Spartans against Ferris State. He started at the 2 position and played 20 minutes. Stats: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal.

[valpospartan]

Like our new guys, Edwards and Bogan, Brandon had a rather quiet first exhibition game for the Spartans against Ferris State. He started at the 2 position and played 20 minutes. Stats: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal.

If anyone wants to see this game, it'll be replayed on the BTN at 4PM Monday, 10/31.

[valpo64]

MSU's T. Izzo  has a 5 min. interview on WJR(Detroit 760) on M and F am.  Today was his 1st show for this season and discussion was on their 1st exib game vs Ferris State...not one mention of Brandon Wood as he discussed this year's team........interesting

[mp91]

bwood will be fine... he just has to learn the system and get used to maximizing his efficiency when shooting since there are so many other quality players that also take a lot of shots

[valpotx]

If you look at his stats, he didn't take many shots.

[historyman]

I found it interesting that the female announcer during the Ferris State/MSU game said that Brandon Wood tended to be too unselfish as a guard and sometimes tried to pass too much. I had to snicker at this. How come Wood could go off for 30 plus points on several occassions while at Valpo if he was so unselfish? Those stats from Wood's Valpo days were actually given by the same female announcer minutes before she made the statement that Brandon was unselfish. I did understand that this was a student run TV broadcast by MSU students.

Tom Izzo did make the statement after the game that this years guards at MSU were the most unselfish he has had in years.

[agibson]

Was Brandon selfish with the ball?  Especially his second year?

When a player scores so many points, it's an obvious question.  I seem to recall that we looked at that fairly closely at the time.  He wasn't always the _most_ efficient player on the court, but I think there were at most a handful of games (especially in season two) when I could look at the box score and say, "I wish Brandon had taken better shots, passed more, etc."  I think his efficiency was just fine, and season two especially his assist numbers came up, etc, etc.

[valpotx]

Brandon pretty much had to be selfish while at Valpo, as other people looked for him to shoot to lead the team.  He doesn't need to do this at MSU, where he can average 10 pts/game and be a cog in a championship team.  It seemed like last year a lot of people were afraid to take the clutch shot, except Brandon.

[StlVUFan]

My take was that Brandon was selfish when Valpo needed him to be.

[valpo84]

Brandon is considered a top 25 transfer (logically, I would rate him higher based on his past and where he went).

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/15962776/top-25-transfers-rosario-gives-uf-instant-boost-on-offense

[valpopal]

Brandon pretty much had to be selfish while at Valpo, as other people looked for him to shoot to lead the team.  He doesn't need to do this at MSU, where he can average 10 pts/game and be a cog in a championship team.  It seemed like last year a lot of people were afraid to take the clutch shot, except Brandon.

I thought one of the reasons Brandon transferred was to have a better chance of getting noticed so he would be considered for the NBA draft. If he averages 10 points for MSU at the shooting guard position, I doubt that is going to happen. He would have had a better chance of getting attention by staying at Valpo, averaging 20 points per game, and possibly becoming league MVP the way Norris Cole did last year.

[valpotx]

I agree that he would have received more individual attention at Valpo.  However, you can be the third best scorer at a top 10 school and get drafted, whereas you can be the top scorer for us and not be...

[valpopal]

I agree that he would have received more individual attention at Valpo.  However, you can be the third best scorer at a top 10 school and get drafted, whereas you can be the top scorer for us and not be...

I don't see MSU as a top-10 team this year.

[covufan]

I agree that he would have received more individual attention at Valpo.  However, you can be the third best scorer at a top 10 school and get drafted, whereas you can be the top scorer for us and not be...

I don't see MSU as a top-10 team this year.

OK, maybe not top 10, but the point is valid.  MSU is a top-tier team (top 25-30) and plays top-tier talent. 

[valpopal]

In the second exhibition game, this one against Hillsdale, Brandon had another quiet game, with 2-7 shooting (0-4 from 3-point line) and 3 free throws for a total of 7 points.