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Michigan State Basketball: Josh Langford’s quest for the “40-40-40-40” club

By Jacob Zinkula

LOUISVILLE, KY - NOVEMBER 27: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks to Joshua Langford #1 during the ACC/Big Ten Challenge against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on November 27, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville won 82-78 in overtime. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - NOVEMBER 27: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks to Joshua Langford #1 during the ACC/Big Ten Challenge against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on November 27, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville won 82-78 in overtime. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Joshua Langford Michigan State Basketball (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

College basketball will have several great shooters this season, but only four (including Michigan State Basketball’s Josh Langford) will have a chance to enter historic company.

Josh Langford’s college basketball career has been quite the journey. The 6-5 guard strolled into Michigan State Basketball as the 19th-ranked recruit in the 2016 class, and expectations were quite high from the get-go.

Langford was the 2nd highest-ranked recruit of a formidable Spartans quartet that included Miles Bridges (8th), Cassius Winston (32nd), and Nick Ward (40th). Of the four, however, Langford arguably had the least impactful freshman season.

(Credit to KenPom and sports-reference for statistics, CBS, ESPN, Yahoo and ESPN for rankings and March Madness for GIF)

Despite shooting 41.6% from three on 2.5 attempts per game, he only averaged 6.9 points. The Spartans entered the season ranked No. 12 in the nation but largely underperformed, going 20-15, earning a 9-seed and ultimately losing in the Round of 32. Langford drew a decent share of the blame from Spartans supporters.

With all four freshmen opting to return for another season, Michigan State entered 2017-18 with even more hype (No. 2 in preseason poll). While the Spartans were solid in the regular season (30-5), the team undeniably disappointed again, only earning a 3-seed and falling in the Round of 32 to 11-seed Syracuse.

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Langford received plenty of criticism again. Despite shooting 40.4% from downtown on 3.1 attempts per game, his 2-point percentage dipped from 57.0% to 44.1%. Perhaps most notably, he went only 1-12 from the field (1-7 from three) in the season-ending loss to the Orange. More than anything else, this performance is likely what drew the ire of Michigan State supporters.

In Langford’s junior season (2018-19), things took a rather unfortunate turn. He played very well through 13 games, averaging 15.0 points and shooting 40.3% from downtown (5.5 attempts per contest), but unfortunately, his season ended on December 29th, 2018 due to injury.

Langford hasn’t stepped foot on the floor for the Spartans since. He’s battled major foot issues and undergone two surgeries that forced him to miss not only the remainder of 2018-19 but all of last season as well.

In what should be quite the feel-good story, however, Langford is in position to be back on the floor this upcoming season. It’s not clear whether he’ll be the same player, but all accounts suggest he’s healthy enough to play.

"“I feel great,” Langford told reporters. “I think right now for me it’s about getting back into that process of playing, allowing my mind to catch up with my body. My skill is there but there are still some things that I have to get used to doing, just getting caught up with the pace of the game.”"

Langford’s return could provide a boost to a Spartans squad that is being regarded as a borderline top-ten team (15th per KenPom). Even if he’s not quite the same level of athlete, the guard can make a significant impact if he shoots as well as he did his first three collegiate seasons.

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