He's Back!
It's official: Tyson Walker will return to Michigan State for a fifth year of eligibility. The Spartans' leading scorer announced his decision on Instagram early Monday afternoon.
This is a huge development for Michigan State, which has its sights set on competing for a Big Ten championship in 2023-24 after adding the nation's No. 3 recruiting class to a roster that will return a lot of experience.
After splitting point guard duties with A.J. Hoggard during his first season in East Lansing, Walker took on more of a scoring responsibility last season as the starting shooting guard. His points per game average improved to 14.8 from 8.2 in his second year with the Spartans.
Walker seemed more comfortable in just about every way during this past season. His shooting percentage improved from 42.7% to 45.9% from the floor, and he also converted on 41.5% of his 3-point attempts (4.2 per game). With the ability to score at all three levels, Walker was Michigan State's go-to scoring option late in games throughout the year.
Walker's return creates a bit of a logjam for playing time among Michigan State's guards. Hoggard and Walker both started in the backcourt throughout 2022-23, while sophomore guard Jaden Akins also started most games for the Spartans. MSU added five-star point guard Jeremy Fears (No. 24 overall player in 2023 class) to their roster this offseason, and still have freshman point Tre Holloman (No. 81 in 2022 class) in the fold.
Michigan State is still awaiting a decision from senior Malik Hall who, like Walker, could elect to return for a fifth season. The Spartans added wing depth with its 2023 class when they signed four-stars Coen Carr (No. 53 overall) and Gehrig Normand (No. 104).
It will also be interesting to see how head coach Tom Izzo rotates MSU's bigs after five-star Xavier Booker (No. 8 player in 2023 class) joins veteran Mady Sissoko and rising sophomores Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper.
Regardless of how the starting lineup and rotation shakes out, Michigan State has the talent and depth to be among the best teams in both the Big Ten Conference and the country. There's no doubt that the Spartans will have high expectations for the 2023-24 season.
