Big Ten Basketball: 3 biggest storylines for 2019 offseason

By Adam Childs | Apr 17, 2019

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 17: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after beating the Michigan Wolverines 65-60 in the championship game of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 31: Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Breslin Center on January 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

3. Joshua Langford’s recovery

Langford, a preseason Big Ten POY favorite, played in just 13 games last year before injuring his foot and missing the rest of the season. He was averaging 15 points per game and was the best three-pointer shooter in the conference at 40%.

The Spartans, led by Cassius Winston, still won a share of the regular season championship and then beat rival Michigan in the finals of the Big Ten tournament. They took that success and made the Final Four after upsetting the favored Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight.

Michigan State did all that without Langford who was leading the team in scoring at the time of his injury. Had the Spartans had Langford the whole year they may have gotten a number one seed and they definitely would have been a favorite to win the title.

The Spartans look like they are returning most of their team including Winston and Nick Ward and with the addition of Langford could be the preseason number one team in the country. They are going to be a good team regardless of how good Langford is, but they could be the elite team in the country with him.

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All eyes will be on his road to recovery in the offseason. All signs point to him being close, but the offseason will be key to see where he is at physically and regain the form that made him one of the top players in the conference before the injury.

Langford will be going into his senior season and you know he will want to be 100% come the time the season rolls around. It all starts now and the Spartans can’t wait.

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