Big Ten Offseason Evaluation: Michigan State Spartans

In our Big Ten Offseason Evaluation series, we’ll break down the roster changes and outlook for all 18 Big Ten basketball teams heading into the 2024-25 season. Next up is Michigan State, which lost its top three leading scorers from last season.

Jack Ankony | Jul 15, 2024

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo during the second half of quarterfinal of Big Ten tournament against Purdue at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. on Friday, March 15, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan State enters its 30th season under coach Tom Izzo, who ranks eighth among active coaches with 707 wins.

After finishing sixth in the Big Ten and losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed last season, the Spartans lost their top three scorers: two-time All-Big Ten guard Tyson Walker, Malik Hall and A.J. Hoggard.

Here’s a full breakdown of Michigan State’s offseason roster changes, plus its outlook for the 2024-25 season.

Who they lost

Transfers: A.J. Hoggard (10.7 ppg, Vanderbilt), Mady Sissoko (3.3 ppg, Cal)
NBA/graduation: Tyson Walker (18.4 ppg), Malik Hall (12.7 ppg).

Who they gained

Transfers: Frankie Fidler (20.1 ppg, Omaha), Szymon Zapala (9.8 ppg, Longwood)
Freshmen: Jase Richardson (No. 31 in 247Sports Composite), Kur Teng (No. 51), Jesse McCulloch (No. 167)

Returning

Jaden Akins (10.4 ppg), Tre Holloman (5.7 ppg), Xavier Booker (3.7 ppg), Jeremy Fears Jr. (3.5 ppg), Carson Cooper (3.4 ppg), Coen Carr (3.1 ppg), Jaxon Kohler (2.0 ppg), Gehrig Normand (redshirt)

Reasons for optimism

Jaden Akins will take on an even bigger role for the Spartans with the loss of Walker and Hoggard. The 6-foot-4 Akins averaged 10.4 points per game last year, and he will be a senior in 2024-25 with 101 games and 61 starts in his career. He’s a career 38.6% 3-point shooter who’s an All-Big Ten candidate now that he won’t have to defer to Walker and Hoggard. Next to Akins and returning junior Tre Holloman, Michigan State has good backcourt depth with high-upside guards in sophomore Jeremy Fears and freshmen Jase Richardson and Kur Teng.

Izzo has used the transfer portal less frequently than most other Big Ten programs the last few seasons, but he made an intriguing addition this offseason with Omaha wing Frankie Fidler. At 6-foot-7, Fidler averaged 20.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and shot 35.6% from 3-point range as a first-team All-Summit League player. He’ll give the Spartans the kind of length and 3-point shooting it lacked on the wing last season.

Biggest concerns

Michigan State tried a variety of players and lineup combinations last season in hopes of getting productive minutes out of the center position, but nothing seemed to work. And even more concerning, the personnel at that position isn’t much different this year. Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler return after underwhelming sophomore seasons, and Xavier Booker is back for his sophomore year after playing just 9.2 minutes per game as a freshman.

Mady Sissoko transferred out after starting 26 games and averaging 3.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game. Izzo’s other transfer portal addition was Szymon Zapala, a 7-footer from Longwood who averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last year. That seems like a one-for-one trade, which doesn’t do much, if anything, to improve Michigan State’s biggest weakness last year.

The best-case-scenario for Michigan State’s frontcourt is that Booker takes a huge leap as a sophomore. Out of Cathedral High School, he was a five-star recruit ranked No. 11 in the nation. Despite not having a significant role on last year’s team, he showed flashes of talent as a 6-foot-11 forward who can knock down threes, score inside and handle the ball.

The bottom line

Michigan State has been between a No. 7 and No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament each of the past four seasons, and I’d project them to finish in that range again this upcoming year. Despite losing Walker and Hoggard, Michigan State still has a veteran guard in Jaden Akins and quality backcourt depth. The questions, again, will revolve around the power forward and center positions, and Xavier Booker will need a breakout sophomore year for the Spartans to improve.