What is Michigan State's Frankie Fidler Capable of in 2024?
The Michigan State Spartans’ men's basketball team is entering the 2024-25 season with several new pieces, looking to replace lots of production from previous seasons.
One of the players they brought in is Omaha transfer forward Frankie Fidler. Tom Izzo used the transfer portal for the first time since the 2021 offseason, much to the delight of Spartan fans everywhere.
Fiddler averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Mavericks in 2023. He also shot nearly 36 percent from 3-point range, which would have ranked fourth on last year’s team.
Fidler is the type of shooting wing the Spartans have needed for the past few seasons.
The question with Fidler is, can his game translate from the Summit League to the Big Ten?
There are a few reasons to believe it can.
Fidler may not average 20 points per game like he did in his final season at Omaha – and like Tyson Walker, did for the Spartans last season – but he should still be a productive scorer this season.
Fidler does not shoot the three at a Matt McQuaid-level clip, but he can knock down an open shot when left open. The Spartans have needed a wing like that for quite some time.
Beyond just shooting threes well, Fidler has an element to his game that only a few Spartans wings have had before: the ability to create off the dribble.
Fidler can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket, either finishing a layup or drawing a foul. In 2023, the Spartans were 10th in the Big Ten in free throw percentage at 70.8, a number that will certainly need to improve if they want to make a deep tournament run. Fidler should help improve those numbers.
All those things were displayed during the Spartans’ impressive trip to Spain. Fidler averaged 14.3 points during the three exhibition games, showing off his offensive repertoire.
Fidler will not be the only Spartan capable of scoring, so he likely will not get the shot volume he had at Omaha. However, he should still be a nice complementary scorer.
The Spartans added Fidler to help improve their shooting and wing facilitating, which should translate to the Big Ten level. If Fidler can assimilate quickly, the Spartans could have a deep tournament run.
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