Now that there is a lot of uncertainty will college athletics moving forward due to concerns with COVID-19, Michigan State basketball fans, along with everyone else, has been focusing on recruiting and grad transfers.
Michigan State’s name has come up lately with a growing list of players entering the transfer portal. For example, Radford transfer Carlik Jones has expressed interest in Michigan State Basketball but does the Spartans technically have any available scholarships? The answer may surprise you.
Here is a list of players who are currently on scholarship for next season.
- Aaron Henry
- Rocket Watts
- Malik Hall
- Joey Hauser
- Gabe Brown
- Marcus Bingham
- Foster Loyer
- Thomas Kithier
- Julius Marble
- AJ Hoggard
- Mady Sissoko
- Xavier Tillman
- Joshua Langford
Division 1 collegiate basketball programs are allowed 13 scholarships. Michigan State for next season technically does not have any room at this time to add any scholarship players for the 2020-2021 season. However, that can change passed on certain situations of current players on the rosters.
Xavier Tillman has decided to enter his name in the 2020 NBA Draft but by not signing with an agent, he is allowed to go through most of the process of the pre-draft process. He will be allowed to gather feedback and he then can decide on whether he wants to remain in the draft or return to Michigan State for his senior and final year. There are many NBA mock drafts having him go late in the first round.
- SI.com has him going 28th in the first round to Toronto
- Nbcsports.com has him going 26th in the first round
- Sportingnews.com also has him going 28th to Toronto
- Cbssports.com has him being the 25th pick to Oklahoma
The hypothetical scenario of him going 28th late in the first round to Toronto may be enough for Tillman to stay in the NBA draft. Being a first-round draft pick which would guarantee just over 1.6 million in his first year as a rookie in the NBA. However, if he comes back for his senior season and he improves his NBA stock, he can theoretically move up to a top 20 or 15 spot in the 2021 NBA draft. The odds of him coming back can be argued to be 50/50 at this point.
Joshua Langford has indicated that every option is on the table moving forward including coming back to play at Michigan State for the 2020-21 season. Langford before getting injured was playing very well before getting injured in a non-conference game in December of 2018. His options are different and more complicated then Tillman’s.
- He could attempt to play next season at Michigan State as he tried to do last year.
- He may continue his rehab in an attempt to play professional basketball overseas.
- He could retire from the sport of basketball due to his injuries.
If Langford can get fully healthy and return and play during the 20-21 season, he could easily become an NBA first-round round pick in 2021. However, he could continue to rehab and play overseas as many recent Spartans have done and made good money playing in Europe for example. He is an intelligent and thoughtful young man and if he chooses to no longer play basketball due to his recurring injuries he will be successful in whatever he decides to do moving forward.
Then if Langford and Tillman both come back to play for the Spartans for the next upcoming season, one or two players may transfer due to a log jam at various positions.