WATCH: Michigan State G Jaden Akins Talks Season Opener
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State guard Jaden Akins is already a senior, and Monday's game against Monmouth will be his last season opener as a Spartan.
Akins is the premier veteran presence on this team, and however he performs on the court, that role is going to be crucial for a squad filled with players taking on more responsibility.
At the same time, his play on the floor will be expected to be the best he's displayed yet.
Akins addressed the media on Friday, discussing Monday's game against Monmouth and more.
You can watch below:
Below is a partial transcript from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo's opening statement from his postgame press conference that followed the Spartans' exhibition game against Ferris State on Tuesday:
Izzo: "You'd think after 30 years I'd be smart enough to not kind of sub like we subbed. I think I hurt our momentum. But we went into the game, we went into these two games with one thing that we needed to do, and that's -- nobody's kind of raised their head above anyone else, as you saw tonight. Kur [Teng] and Jase [Richardson] maybe played as well as some of our veterans. And so, when nobody does that, you're giving everybody a chance. But I was disappointed. I was disappointed in our bigs being able to guard somebody. I thought Jaxon Kohler was pretty good, other than guarding a little bit. But I thought him and Coen Carr were real good. Our best lineup was when I had the three small guards and the smaller Coen Carr Jaxon Kohler. So who knows? They went real small, too. We had the 17-point lead early and then, we just subbing, we had a thing, we wanted to see different lineups. We wanted to see guys playing against different people. We did what we wanted to do. And I'm sure that hurt us a little bit. ... I'm happy for our guards, both Jeremy [Fears Jr.] and Tre [Holloman]. Between the two, they had 17 assists and two turnovers, and nobody made any shots. We had 16 offensive boards. That's a lot, and we should have [had] 18. But the kickouts, we just missed wide open 3s. And so, that's gonna happen, and now it goes for real. So, we got a lot done, we got a lot of tape to watch, we got a lot to figure out, got a lot of bodies with a lot of moving parts, and there may be lineup changes. So don't be surprised if -- guys who are going to play well. It's not the best players, it's who plays the best. So, it's pretty simple, and I think I've done a poor job holding my own guys accountable. And so, it will be interesting to see what the next four or five days look like. Maybe we'll have a quarterback controversy. It'll be fun."
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