AJ Hoggard has a bright future with Michigan State basketball and he showed that he can be the next point guard great in the green and white.
When Tom Izzo landed Tyson Walker in the transfer portal last offseason, everyone expected him to lead Michigan State basketball as the clear point guard starter.
When reports indicated that AJ Hoggard looked poised to assume that role, fans didn’t know how to take the news. Did this mean that Walker wasn’t living up to the lofty expectations placed upon him by hopeful fans? Or was this just an indication that Hoggard had taken a massive step forward in his development?
Early on, it was clear the latter was the case.
Walker was a solid player off the bench, but it took him a couple of months to really show any confidence on the offensive end, and then he proved that he could take over games on that side of the ball. He also played well off the ball thanks to Hoggard.
It was clear that Hoggard was the best option to be the main ball-handler and it did take a little while for him to cut the turnovers down, but once he did, he was lethal.
After a forgettable seven-turnover game against Nebraska on Jan. 5, Hoggard really turned things around. He was averaging over 2.5 turnovers per game to that point but averaged 1.6 for the remainder of the season.
Hoggard also averaged just 6.7 points and 4.4 assists per game up until that seven-turnover letdown against the Cornhuskers but 7.2 points and 5.1 assists after. The improvement wasn’t drastic, but it was still tangible and showed that he was ready to take that next step.
In March, he was even better. In fact, in the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament, he averaged 10.2 points, 5.2 assists, and only 1.2 turnovers per game. He had just six total turnovers in five postseason games — he had more turnovers in one game against Nebraska which started his turnaround.
When Hoggard played well, Michigan State played well. And he continues to get better and he’s also becoming a heck of a leader. The Spartans were 10-3 in the regular season when he had five or more assists and two or fewer turnovers. That’s not a great record, but it is only going to improve and with more consistency, Michigan State will flourish.
It’s time to hop on the Hoggard bandwagon now before he becomes a breakout star in the Big Ten next season.
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