Michigan State Basketball: Preview of Spartans 2020-21 season

The Starting Five

PG – SO Rocket Watts

Towards the end of last season, he began to play a ton of minutes due to there not being a viable backup to Winston and because he averaged double digits in scoring in his last four games, Izzo began playing him over 30 minutes a game.

He will more than likely at least at the beginning of the season, to share the point guard duties as the Spartans have depth at the guard positions. He is a very underrated outside shooter and he is able to get a good look at the basket and be able to create a shot for himself.

His three-point shooting will be more noticeable as he looks to put up more attempts from beyond the three-point arc this season. Watts is not the ball-handler nor will he produce the number of assists per game as Winston but he will be better than expected in distributing the basketball.

The general consensus is that with him returning for his sophomore season at Michigan State and not declaring early for the NBA draft, he will be the starting point guard entering next season, even though Izzo has said that there are only three starters for this season that he has publicly named and his name is yet to be mentioned as a starter.

He can do it all and his defense may lead him to be named to the Big Ten all-defensive team at the end of the season. At this moment in time, he doesn’t display the leadership of departed Spartans like Tillman and Winston, but his explosiveness and confidence will make him a good if not great point guard this season.

He doesn’t fit the mold of a Mateen Cleaves or Magic Johnson but he could end up putting up better numbers than those who have a similar style of play like past Spartan point guards like Keith Appling and Kalin Lucas.

SF – JR Aaron Henry

As a sophomore last season, Henry continued to improve his game greatly and showed great maturity with a great second half to the season. As stated previously, he was put into the starting lineup originally due to the season-ending injury to Joshua Langford.

Henry’s defense has continued to be outstanding for most of the season and he displayed tremendous athleticism on both ends of the floor which he is being awarded by getting the recognition of being the only Spartan on the preseason All-Big Ten team.

He displayed moments of great offensive production as he showed during certain games last season against Iowa and Virginia Tech. There were even reports after the season that he may declare for the NBA draft but he made the decision that he was coming back for his junior season and expectations are high for him.

He will start the season as the most reliable and proven player on Michigan State’s team for the beginning season as Langford may still not 100% to what he was prior to being injured these two past seasons. He has exceeded expectations since he stepped on campus as a freshman as he was not a highly rated high school recruit coming out of high school.

He keeps on showing signs of progress as some of the intangibles he brings on the court don’t necessarily show up on stat sheets. He is continuing to improve his offensive game especially from beyond the arc, he should at minimum make the 2nd team All-Big Ten selection this season. He will be a key part of Michigan State’s goal to another Big Ten championship in 2021.

PF – JR Joey Hauser

Arguably the second most important Spartan for this upcoming season, as he will be the starter this season who will be replacing Tillman at the power forward position. Coach Izzo has been telling the media for the past couple of months how impressed he has been with his progress on the court.

Hauser will not be the tallest and most physically imposing big man on the floor at times but he is what you would want from a power forward in this style of basketball being played at this time at this level of play. Hauser has great vision and by all accounts, is a good passer as well as a solid defender and a big man who can stretch the floor with his ability to shot from the outside.

The expectations for Hauser this season will be that he be consistent, very steady, and productive on both ends of the floor. He will hopefully make enough shots outside of the paint to stretch the interior of the opposing team’s defense.

By all early indications, he has a high degree of on-court intelligence whereas he can find the open spot near the basket where Watts and Langford can distribute the ball to him for an easily made basket. This season Hauser looks to average around 10 or more points a game and to show off his hard work that he has put in during the offseason to help lead the Spartans to many victories.

SG – SR Joshua Langford

The expectation is that he is near 100% healthy as he has not played in a regular-season game since December of 2018. Many fans and college basketball experts tend to forget how productive Langford was prior to getting injured.

He technically ended up being the second-leading scorer for the Spartans during the 2018-19 season. Michigan State hopes he will be back to the second-leading scorer type of player he was two seasons ago by the start of Big Ten play.

The ultimate goal if he is 100% healthy is for him to end up being a Gary Harris type of player that he can play to his strengths of coming off of ball screens and making those mid-range jumpers as well as be a consistent three-point threat.

Watts, Henry, and Langford can arguably be the best backcourt in the Big Ten as long as all three players stay healthy. If Langford can become a type of lockdown defender and if he can average approximately 15 or more points by season’s end, the sky is the limit for him and the Spartans for 2021.

C – JR Marcus Bingham Jr.

A fairly recent social media post showed a bulked-up Bingham as he clearing has added muscle to his frame this offseason. He should start the season getting the nod over Julius Marble, Mady Sissoko, and Thomas Kithier due to his size, athleticism, and more experience.

No disrespect to the other possible players mentioned for the starting center position, but Bingham being tall, athletic, and a solid shot-blocker gives him the edge to start the season until proven otherwise. He will be looked at to step up against the growing trend of taller and more athletic big men in division 1 basketball.

He has a 7-4 wingspan and is technically just under 7 feet tall. He has shown the ability to shoot from the outside and will be asked to be a very productive shot blocker this season. He had a full off-season to add muscle and work on his conditioning and Izzo and his coaching staff look to see a much improve Bingham this season.

Bingham has the perfect opportunity to see the largest increase of playing time than anyone on the Spartan roster outside of Langford who has been injured these past two seasons. Along with Gabe Brown, you can easily see Izzo and his coaching staff expecting to see much more playing time and an increase in production this season from him.

However, the starters are not the only ones that will help guide the Michigan State Spartans to a potential Final Four run. Let’s look at the players who most likely will come off of the bench to help in the pursuit of another Big Ten title.