Previewing 2022-23 MSU Basketball

Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo <Photo credit: MLive.com>

Now that the season has come to an end for the Michigan State men’s basketball team, it’s time to look at what they can do to improve upon the momentum they gained at the end of this year. 

It was truly a night-and-day scenario for the Spartans, who lost seven of their last ten games of the regular season. The team looked dead in the water for the latter half of the year, which resulted in very low postseason expectations amongst the fan base.

The team was able to find something in the Big Ten Tournament, though, as they beat a tough Maryland team for the third time and took down the two-seeded Wisconsin Badgers the following day. MSU looked a bit tired in their subsequent matchup with Purdue, but still kept the game competitive and lost by only five points.

In the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans were able to hold off a feisty Davidson team led by former MSU guard Foster Loyer. Their made-for-TV schedule continued with a game against Duke, this time in the home stretch of Coach K’s farewell tour. 

Michigan State held their own against the Blue Devils, playing perhaps its best and most complete game of the season. All of the promise that the team had was being realized in that game, and they ended up taking a lead with five minutes to go. It looked like MSU had Duke beat, until it didn’t. 

Despite the best efforts of the newly-recharged and refocused senior group, Duke ultimately had too much top-end talent for the Spartans to keep up with. It was a valiant effort, but likely a missed opportunity in the team’s eyes, given how well things had been clicking for them in the postseason.

Alas, both the team and fan base are now forced to look toward next season. It’s not all bad, though, as there should be relatively high expectations for the Spartans given the way they finished and the potential for new additions to the roster. 

Let’s take a look at the most critical offseason moves that MSU has to make to reach these expectations:

The development of the young guys

For next year’s team to be successful, the continued development of the underclassmen will be critical. 

Sophomore point guard A.J. Hoggard played out of his mind in both the Purdue and Duke games, proving that he can not only be a go-to guy for the Spartans, but also the tough-minded leader at point that Tom Izzo has been desperately searching for since Cassius Winston graduated.

While Hoggard’s development doesn’t depend as much on his physical growth, Max Christie’s does. A five-star recruit out of high school, many projected Christie to turn to the NBA after his freshman year at MSU. While he certainly showed flashes of his pro-level skill throughout the season, Christie was not consistent enough to fall in the lottery as once projected. 

In what many dubbed the “freshman slump” for Christie during the middle of the season, he shot significantly lower percentages from the field compared to the beginning of the year.

After averaging 30 minutes per game and guarding the opposing team’s best player for a majority of the season, Christie’s inconsistencies were likely attributed to his lack of physical strength, especially compared to the guards he was matching up against. 

Duke’s guards specifically flexed their NBA-level strength and size against the Spartans, and many of Michigan State’s guards, including Christie, were physically outmatched. For a player as talented as Christie, a full offseason in the weight room could compliment his natural skill very well. 

Aside from those two likely starters next season, freshmen Jaden Akins, Pierre Brooks II and sophomore Mady Sissoko are other underclassmen worth looking out for next year.

The transfer portal

The next most important avenue for the Spartans to explore this offseason is the transfer portal. With Marcus Bingham Jr., Gabe Brown and Joey Hauser all likely gone, there are some glaring holes needing to be filled on the roster. 

The most notable departure is Bingham’s, simply for the fact that MSU doesn’t have the depth at the center position to reliably match his production. Julius Marble II has shown flashes offensively, but his defense and rebounding still need to be improved for him to be the starter. 

Fardaws Aimaq from Utah Valley is the perfect candidate to fill the hole at center for MSU. The 6’11, 245-pound big man is dominant in the paint and has shown the ability to stretch the floor as well. He won’t be an easy get for the Spartans, as multiple high-major programs have already reached out to Aimaq. 

Wing depth is also something the Spartans could lack next season, and it appears the coaching staff is already aware of that. Just days after the loss to Duke, it was announced that they’ve reached out to small forward Jalen Bridges of West Virginia. 

A former four-star recruit, Bridges is an athletic and physical forward who gets to the basket well. He’s decent from long range too, and would certainly provide Michigan State with the depth piece they need going into next year.

It’ll be interesting to watch the offseason unfold, as there’s always the potential for current MSU players to transfer out of the program as well. We’re still incredibly early in the process, but it’s always fun looking toward the future.