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Another Michigan State starter enters name into 2023 NBA Draft

NBA Draft applicants have until May 31 to withdraw their names and maintain their college eligibility...

Matthew Lounsberry

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In the late hours of Tuesday night, Michigan State starting point guard A.J. Hoggard's name appeared on an official list of early entrants into the 2023 NBA Draft.

Assuming Hoggard did not hire an agent — which is likely — the junior will have until May 31 to withdraw his name from the draft process and maintain his college eligibility. Hoggard joins his teammate and fellow starter, sophomore shooting guard Jaden Akins, who declared for the NBA Draft five days ago.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo hinted at the possibility that a few of his players could test the NBA Draft process at a post-season press conference back on April 12.

“I don't know if I'll have some — probably — that I'll put their name into the draft. I think that's the popular thing to do now,” Izzo said. “But I think in general, we should have a pretty solid group coming back with a great group of recruits coming in. And you put those two things together, and it's a lot of optimism for next season.”

Hoggard's submission into this year's professional basketball selection process came without any fanfare from the junior himself via social media, nor anything from the Spartans' social media pages.

The NBA's early entry deadline was this past Sunday at 11:59 p.m. and while Hoggard could still post a public message concerning his entry into the draft in the near future, like Akins did, it probably bodes well for Michigan State that not much was made of Hoggard entering his name into the draft.

Hoggard started 33 of 34 games for the Spartans during the 2022-23 season and averaged 12.9 points, 5.9 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 30.6 minutes played per game. The junior shot 41.7 percent from the floor, a career-best 32.9 percent from 3-point range and a career-best 80.4 percent from the free throw line during his junior campaign.

In a scenario in which Hoggard remains in the 2023 draft, Michigan State would lose one of its most experienced players. The junior had appeared in 96 games during his career with the Spartans, making 49 total starts. He's the runaway favorite to be MSU's starting point guard again in 2023-24.

With that said, even in a worst-case scenario in which Hoggard and Akins both remain in the draft, the Spartans would still have a high level of talent in their backcourt. On April 10, senior Tyson Walker announced his intention to return to MSU for 2023-24. Rising sophomore and former four-star recruit Tre Holloman got his feet wet this past season and Michigan State will add five-star point guard Jeremy Fears to its roster this summer.

Senior Malik Hall also announced his intent to return to East Lansing for a fifth season earlier this month, and MSU returns a trio of centers who now have game experience in rising senior Mady Sissoko and rising sophomores Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper. Throw in the nation's No. 3 recruiting class, composed of five-star power forward Xavier Booker, four-star small forward Coen Carr, four-star small forward Gehrig Normand and Fears, and Michigan State has all the roster ingredients necessary to compete for championships in the Big Ten and nationally.

The only players from Michigan State's 2022-23 roster who are currently guaranteed not to return for the Spartans next season are starting power forward and second-leading scorer Joey Hauser (eligibility exhausted) and reserve wing Pierre Brooks (transfer).

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Matthew Lounsberry
MATTHEW LOUNSBERRY

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