+1 he did everything he was asked of today and more.

If he can give us some bench scoring that will be huge for this year and next year.

Am I confused or wasn't he a starter early in his career but not much on offense, though fine on defense--and, then, pushed back to the bench?

If so..and even anyways...good on him for sticking to it!

Good for Mike. I had him left for dead as it appeared Block and Culver had given him a permanent seat on the bench.

I've thought from day one (and I think most disagree), that we needed to be more athletic at the #3 spot. As the season has progressed, I think even SP has desired a little more production from this spot.

Culver, as noted here, appeared early to have much more upside than Mike and he still might. But Culver simply has proven to not be able to play in control, to understand his role at this early stage in his collegiate career and to not play within the framework of what's needed from him on the team (ie: he appears to still think he's the leading scorer on his HS team and hasn't seen a shot he doesn't like/while at the same time not being offensively polished). Appears he needs more seasoning before he's ready for more game time.

Meanwhile, Mike, who appeared to have about as much offensive abilities as Culver currently has, has shown great improvement on that end of the court. Athletic, slashes some, has hit some jumpers--his OHIO career may have been revived as it appeared dead just a few weeks ago.

I'm not sure he's the long term answer and I personally am not sure the answer to a full-time starting #3 wing is on the current roster (thought a couple of these guys could develop and be that guy down the road/plus I think SP really like GB), but if Mike's offense keeps up he's a nice alternative to have and I hope his role continues to expand.

If I can math correctly, during the 4 game winning streak against Balls, EMU, BG, Miami he's 23 of 34 (68%) from floor and averaging 13.5 points.

Plus all the intangibles.

Very nice.

I said this in another thread but he gives us something we desperately need. Teams have decided that they aren't going to let Kaminski and Dartis beat them with 3s. That opens things up in the middle and Laster is taking advantage and taking it to the hole. He's also giving us some energy off the bench.

I might argue he is often truly awesome at one thing: getting into the lane and creating breakdowns in the opponent's defense.

I like his energy and his team spirit. He seems a real good team player, which is emblematic of this team as a whole.

Good comparison.

Good comparison with Mike Reese. I do think Laster is more polished offensively and a better defender than Reese. I will never forget the Reese to Trent ally-ooo at Ohio State.

I love watching Laster play this season. He is a favorite. He definitely creates a mismatch for other teams.