Michigan State basketball: Breaking down Tom Izzo's roster as the Spartans chase greatness

Four days after Michigan State basketball learned both A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins withdrew from the NBA draft and would return alongside Tyson Walker for another run together, Jeremy Fears Jr. arrived on campus. The next in a long line of star-studded Spartan basketball guards.

With Fears, fellow five-star freshman Xavier Booker and four-star newcomers Coen Carr and Gehrig Normand, MSU has the makings of a potential Big Ten and national championship contender when the 2023-24 season tips off in November.

“I think we're gonna have a good base for those rookies to come in and have some mentors to work with,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said in April. “And yet, as happens in college basketball now, every year there'll be guys pushing guys. And last year, we didn't have as much pushing. I think this year, we'll have more pushing, and I think that'll be good for us and good for the guys.”

The Spartans lose three players off last year’s 21-13 squad that reached the Sweet 16 and helped Izzo make history. It was his 15th Sweet 16 and his 25th straight NCAA tournament appearance, a Division I record for a coach at one school, breaking a tie with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. The biggest loss is starting forward Joey Hauser, who turned pro after four seasons in East Lansing, along with reserves Jason Whitens (graduated) and Pierre Brooks II (transferred to Butler).

Those are more than offset by who returns, including the starting backcourt of Hoggard, Walker and Akins along with Malik Hall for a fifth season and an exciting young group looking to help Izzo chase his first national championship since 2000 — the last Big Ten team to win one.

Here is a position-by-position look at who’s back and how Izzo might best arrange his pieces to get his elusive second NCAA title.

Point guard

The return of Hoggard — who averaged 12.9 points and a 5.9 assists (third in the Big Ten) — comes after the 6-foot-4, 205-pound put together a strong final month. He was getting downhill on drives, scoring in traffic or getting fouled and distributing the ball, rather than settling for perimeter jump shots. It was a major sign that the friction between him and Izzo started paying big dividends, showing another season of growth and listening to his Hall of Fame coach could get Hoggard playing at an elite level. His size, savvy and tenacity also makes him a matchup nightmare for smaller point guards.

The arrival of Fears will help minimize some of Hoggard’s minutes and allow him to play off the ball more. Izzo has likened the 6-2, 185-pound freshman from Joliet, Illinois, to a young Mateen Cleaves in terms of leadership, toughness and talent. Fears, a McDonald’s All-American who can attack the basket and pass at a high level, can elevate the play of those around him.

Sophomore Tre Holloman is a strong third point guard, coming off a rookie season in which he displayed a knack for defense with his athletic ability and long wingspan and 6-2, 180-pound frame. He wasn’t needed to score much or shoot often, but Holloman made 5 of 9 shots over the final seven games to show he’s capable of emerging as more of an offensive threat in time.

Shooting guard

Walker shifted primarily off the ball last season and blossomed into a significant scoring threat and late-game closer. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound guard showed ability to attack and score in traffic and hit at a 41.5% clip from 3-point range. He posted 30 points against Purdue and 31 at Iowa in losses, and Walker averaged a team-best 14.8 points and 34.0 minutes per game, thanks to his limitless stamina and ball-hawking defense. He’s also a strong passer as a former point guard whose 98 assists were second only to Hoggard’s 201.

To get minutes for the other point guards, Hoggard can slide over in certain lineups to be more of a slasher from the perimeter. And to present a bigger lineup with the sudden infusion of depth on the wing, Akins with his 42.2% 3-point shooting and ability to guard multiple positions also is a strong option at shooting guard with his ability to elevate and rebound like Charlie Bell more than two decades ago.

Wing

Once Akins got healthy from the after-effects of surgery for a stress reaction in his left foot, the 6-4, 190-pound left-handed shooter took flight as a starter on the wing. He scored 13.4 points while hitting 50% from deep over his last seven games, finishing his sophomore season averaging 9.8 points and 4.0 rebounds. His disruptive defense forced 1.2 steals a game, and when coupled with his elite leaping ability allowed him to guard both bigger and smaller players.

Hall’s fourth year also got disrupted in-season by a similar stress reaction, and he underwent surgery in early April, with the expectation of being back to full basketball activities by mid-summer. The 6-8, 220-pound forward is a smart, heady players who also can defend multiple positions when healthy — the foot injury clearly limited him on that end of the floor last season. Hall started MSU’s first four games but came off the bench for all but one start afterward, averaging 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds. A return to the form he showed early last season before the injury would allow Akins to spend more time at shooting guard.

The 6-7, 215-pound Carr is an electric leaper who might be the team’s best slasher from the wing, which he showed in a strong 19-point, nine-rebound performance at the Iverson Classic in April. And the 6-6, 180-pound Normand is more of a sharpshooter from outside, built in the Matt McQuaid mold.

Forward

With Hauser deciding not to pursue a medical waiver, MSU is without his stretch-4 shooting ability after he led them at 46.1% from 3-point range along with a team-leading 7.0 rebounds and 14.4 points that trailed only Walker.

How Izzo operates here will be interesting. A healthy Hall showed during his first three seasons the ability to shoot deep, but the foot issues hampered him and led to a 32.7% 3-point clip during Big Ten play. He needs to be more assertive on the boards and get to the free-throw line more frequently — he made a career-high 84.6% in 52 attempts last season. He would serve as a defensive orchestrator and leader at this spot.

Carr also has a rugged Big Ten-ready frame and should get minutes, but he must show the ability to defend older, bulkier big men of the league. His outside shooting ability, though it has a chance to develop, would be a major drop off from Hauser.

A wild card here could be 6-11, 230-pound Carson Cooper, who despite modest stats last season — 1.6 points and 0.9 rebounds in 6.6 minutes — emerged in the NCAA tournament as an athletic court-runner and positionally strong defender. Izzo used him effectively at times late in the season in a two-big lineup alongside fellow sophomore Jaxon Kohler and starting center Mady Sissoko. Cooper averaged just over 10 minutes a game in three NCAA games with eight points and eight rebounds, including a six-point, four-board performance against USC in the opener.

Bigs

Sissoko is the incumbent starter at center, coming off a junior season in which the 6-9, 240-pound Mali native showed flashes of talent with long stretches of absence offensively and on the boards. He finished averaging 5.1 points and 6.1 rebounds with a team-leading 28 blocked shots, starting all but one game. Though he tempered it some, Sissoko also still remains foul-prone — he got whistled a team-leading 95 times and had three of the Spartans’ four disqualifications with five fouls. However, MSU’s defense was markedly better with him on the floor and he led the team with a plus-126.

It’s Booker, however, who many anticipate will be a rising star who forces his way into major minutes with tantalizing talent. The 6-11, 220-pound McDonald’s All-American from Indianapolis enters as the No. 14 player overall and No. 2 center in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports Composite rankings. Upside is the buzzword, which sometimes requires patience with growing pains to playing in the post, and Booker needs to add bulk and muscle in the summer. He has long arms that can block shots and snatch rebounds, but how quickly he adapts to Izzo’s defensive demands and coaching will be key.

Kohler gives a third different style of play as a more traditional low-block presence, coming off a debut season in which he flashed his array of post scoring moves and rebounding ability with a double-double against Rutgers. But the 6-9, 240-pound Utah native struggled with consistency, particularly on the defensive end, and finished averaging 3.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.7 minutes.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball: Analyzing Spartans' deep, versatile roster