Where have the Spartans landed?
Finally, we have something fun to pay attention to! In the summer doldrums it is difficult to find something to get excited about. The Moneyball Pro-Am is one of the few things to help us get closer to games back in East Lansing. This year marks the 20th year of the summer tournament that runs every Tuesday and Thursday from June 24 through July 31. The requirement to play in the Moneyball Pro-Am is that all players must have graduated high school and currently playing, have played, or about to play college basketball. This give us a very early taste of where some of MSU basketball players are at in their off season development and can be a bit of a crystal ball in what to expect this upcoming season.
There are obviously a couple of Spartans that will not be seen due to injuries but here is a look at the teams MSU players have been assigned to.
Team Tristar: Jeremy Fears Jr., Carson Cooper
Team Faygo: Divine Ugochukwu, Jaxon Kohler
Team Snipes: Trey Fort, Jordan Scott
Team Motorcars: Coen Carr, Cam Ward
Team Case Credit Union: Nick Sanders
Team SPS: Kur Teng, Denham Wojcik
I’m excited to see a few of these matchups play out. Specifically, I’m looking forward to seeing Teams Motorcars and Tristar. Those teams could see some fun explosive plays and I also am excited to see Kur Teng play some more. I think that kid can shoot and would really love to see where he is improving. It will also be insight in what we are getting with Fort and Scott’s arrivals. As you can see, there is plenty here to spark interest and observation from Spartan basketball fans.
Most games are played at Holt HS and are free with a suggested donation to support the Desmond Ferguson Foundation. The DFF is a nonprofit organization whose goals are establishing a comprehensive educational and wellness paradigm by converging sports, technology, health & wellness and financial literacy. All the games are at 6, 7, and 8pm each day.
Opening day’s schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, June 24
6 p.m.: Snipes vs. Tristar
7 p.m.: Faygo vs. Motorcars
8 p.m.: Case Credit Union vs. SPS
Thursday, June 26
6 p.m.: Tristar vs. SPS
7 p.m.: Faygo vs. Snipes
8 p.m.: Motorcars vs. Case Credit Union
Which teams are you most interested in and who do you think will break out and impress the masses the most?