Michigan State Basketball: Preview of Spartans 2020-21 season
By Ryan Kay
Michigan State Basketball looks to contend for another Big Ten title and possible Final Four run in 2020-21.
Here’s what to look for with the highly talented but young Spartans team. Michigan State Basketball only has one senior in Joshua Langford but this year’s team arguably will be healthier to start the season, have more depth overall, and have more athleticism than last year’s team. The Spartans enter the season flying under the radar being ranked No. 13 in comparison to last year’s preseason expectations.
Langford will be the starting shooting guard for Michigan State who is coming off of a season-ending injury. He started last season practicing with the team but got hurt prior to the season starting. He and Rocket Watts will make the Spartan backcourt one of the best in the Big Ten this year.
The continued development of junior Aaron Henry who became a full-time starter last season may allow Michigan State’s transition game to be even better than it was last season. Henry was also named to the Big Ten Preseason team and much more will be expected from him this season.
The Spartans will, believe it or not, will have more depth this season in comparison to last season. They will greatly miss Cassius Winston who graduated and as well as having a tough time filling the void left by Xavier Tillmen who entered the NBA draft but they bring back a good core group of players, however.
Junior Gabe Brown showed growth throughout the season last year and fellow junior big man Marcus Bingham Jr. who may end up being the 5th starter this season has terrific upside and more will be asked of him this year to fill the role vacated by the departure of Tillman.
Another Junior Thomas Kithier will provide experience and depth in the Michigan State frontcourt as he mentors the younger less experienced big men as well. However, two players not already mentioned look to possibly have the biggest impacts on this upcoming season.
As productive as Henry was this past year and even though Brown had an impact coming off of the bench as a sophomore, another sophomore player in point guard Rockett Watts looks to fulfill the void left by Winston. He has huge shoes to fill but prior to the season being halted by the pandemic, he was playing very well.
Fellow sophomore Malik Hall will provide a spark off of the bench for the Spartans in 2020-2021. The biggest surprise though maybe from the impact of power forward transfer Marquette Joey Hauser.
It is may not be as clear to see that the Spartans will have depth and athleticism as they did last season. However, at a closer look and clearer examination, the sophomores and juniors should blend well with the upperclassmen for the 2020-2021 season.
Let’s take a look at the projected starters for the Michigan State Spartans for the 2019-2020 season.