Michigan State basketball needs more from point guard A.J. Hoggard, says Tom Izzo
EAST LANSING — There may be some consternation about Michigan State basketball’s abysmal outside shooting two games into the season. Even if Tom Izzo isn’t overly concerned about it.
Making just two of 31 attempts from 3-point range — again, in just two games — is going to set off some alarms.
Yet the MSU head coach's bigger frustration rests where it usually does, with his point guard play. Specifically, A.J. Hoggard.
Izzo turned to freshman Jeremy Fears Jr., sophomore Tre Holloman and, at times, senior Tyson Walker and junior Jaden Akins to trigger MSU’s offense in Thursday’s 74-51 win over Southern Indiana.
LOOKING AHEAD: What Tom Izzo had to say about Michigan State's top-10 2024 recruiting class
Hoggard was just 2-for-7 for four points with four assists and three turnovers in 20 minutes, 51 seconds of court time. That came after he went 2-for-11 with only three assists in 34 minutes of the Spartans' 79-76 stunning overtime loss to James Madison to open the season on Nov. 6.
“A.J. has to play better,” Izzo said Thursday. “He was OK, but I think maybe a little bummed out that he didn’t play as many minutes in a couple stretches. We told him that was gonna happen until he starts playing harder all the time.
“I’m putting a lot of pressure on A.J., because he’s one of my better players.”
Everything intensifies in the coming days and weeks. Next up for No. 4 MSU is No. 3 Duke on Tuesday in the Champions Classic in Chicago (7 p.m., ESPN).
In an 89-88 exhibition loss to No. 10 Tennessee last month, Hoggard had 14 points but went just 4-for-11 with two assists and three turnovers. He has missed all five of his 3-point attempts in the first two real games of the season.
Hoggard was on multiple Big Ten and national preseason award watch lists but has struggled through two games. The 6-foot-4 senior is averaging just 6.5 points while shooting just 22.2%. He has seven assists to four turnovers and only four rebounds.
“I think he’s gotta do more. He’s gotta have his hands on the ball more,” Izzo said. “There were other guys taking the ball up, and those guys are better shooters. He’s better with the ball. So we’ll have to make some adjustments still.”
As for the rest of the team’s outside shooting, Akins made 42.2% and Walker shot 41.5% from deep last season. The Spartans return all but lost Joey Hauser’s team-leading 46.1% from last season, when they finished third in the country at 39.3% from beyond the arc.
“We did it all summer, all fall, and shot the ball really well,” Izzo said. “It’s just, they didn’t go in (the first two games). ... I see them every day, it’s not even something I talked about once to any of you. And yet, stuff happens. We just have to work our way through it. We’ll see how mentally tough we are."
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball: Spartans expecting a lot from A.J. Hoggard
