Michigan State Basketball: Impact of 2019-20 senior class for Spartans
By Ryan Kay
Joshua Langford, sophomore and junior years
In his breakout year, Langford averaged 15.0 pts, 3.6 rebs, 2.3 asts, and shoot 44.3% from the field.
He played easily his best game as a Spartan leading Michigan State to a decisive victory over No. 9 ranked North Carolina in the PK80 tournament victory. That game he scored 23 points on eight for eleven shooting. He made five of the seven three-pointers he attempted and was perfect from the free throw line. At that point, the Spartans had national championship aspirations after very impressive non-conference tournament victories.
He would continue to play very well in non-conference play highlighted by a 23-point performance vs. Cleveland State where he was 9-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. In conference play, he scored in double digits in leading Michigan State to victories over Rutgers twice, Maryland, Penn State, Indiana, Iowa, and Illinois. He was very important in helping the Spartans win the Big Ten regular-season outright and leading them to the championship game of the Big Ten tournament.
Even though he ended his sophomore year on a disappointing on the court performance in a loss in the NCAA tournament over Syracuse, he did have a great tournament performance the game prior when he scored 22 points in a four-point victory over Bucknell.
His junior year came with high expectations for Langford and many forget how well he was playing before he got inquired in a non-conference game in December. He, for example, scored 16 or more points in Michigan State’s first four non-conference games.
Langford outdid his amazing performance the season prior against North Carolina when he exploded for 29 points in a victory over Texas in a victory in the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational. He was 10 for 16 from the floor, five for six from beyond the arc, and perfect from the free throw line. He would follow that amazing performance with back to back 14 point scoring games against Rutgers and Iowa in helping Michigan State start Big Ten play 2-0. Langford then leads the Spartans to another road victory over Florida where he scored in double digits as he did in every game up to that point that season.
He scored no less than 12 points in every non-conference game his junior year prior to a December 29th home game against Northern Illinois. He played just 12 minutes that game before exiting it due to an injury. Unfortunately, he has not played in a game since for Michigan State as he as injuries have kept him off of the court.