The 2022-23 season saw Michigan State Basketball finish with an 11-8 Big Ten record which was good enough for fourth place in the conference. Head Coach Tom Izzo and the Spartans had their NCAA Tournament run end with a 98-93 loss to Kansas State in the East Regional Semifinal after capturing two tournament victories.
In typical Coach Izzo fashion, the Spartans had eight players average over ten minutes per game last season. That depth chart, which was not overwhelmingly deep, might be a little shallower this season. The Spartans may only be suffering two departures from last season’s roster, but one is Joey Hauser who logged over 34 minutes per game and the other is Pierre Brooks who averaged over 14 minutes as he transfers to Butler.
To offset the departure of experienced players, the fans at the Breslin Student Events Center will be looking to an ensemble that makes up the nation’s third ranked freshman class. No. 13 Xavier Brooks, No. 26 Coen Carr, No. 34 Jeremy Fears and No. 83 Gehring Normand, are the names of the bodies that will be available for Coach Izzo to insert into the rotation.
The question, however, is will these highly ranked freshmen get minutes similar to what No. 17 Max Christie got in his freshman year and average almost 31 minutes, or will it more closely resemble the fewer than six minutes No. 43 Mady Sissoko averaged in his freshman year. With that in mind, here is the Michigan State Basketball’s depth chart for the 2023-2024 season.
Point Guard: A.J Hoggard and Jeremy Fears
A.J. Hoggard: 12.9 ppg / 5.9 apg / 30.6 mpg
After starting thirty-three of thirty-four games last season, the 6 foot 3 guard will be entering his fourth season wearing Spartan Green. Despite being the primary ballhandler, the loss of Joey Hauser put Hoggard in the position of being the second-leading scorer. A title he should have no trouble maintaining as the starting point guard.
With three other starters returning, Hoggard will easily fit into a comfortable role of getting Mady Sissoko the ball in scoring position if opposing defenses decide to hedge on the pick’n’roll. Hoggard is also extremely effective off the primary fastbreak, as he consistently pushes the ball up the court after an outlet pass in order to drive to the basket to draw the defense and kick it out to the spot-up shooter.
The former top seventy-ranked freshman is also willing to post up defenders, which, when combined with his ability to drive past defenders contributed to Hoggard attempting the sixth most free-throws in the Big Ten and the second most total assists.
Jeremy Fears
Brendan Jenkins neatly places the 6 foot 2 point guard’s game into a consumable nutshell on a 24/7sports podcast. Fears won the 2022-23 Max Preps Illinois Basketball Player of the Year while playing with Joliet West. There is little argument that Fears was on a different level in comparison to his 4A Section rivals during the high school basketball season. Fears was able to score in various ways in order to average almost 19 points while eclipsing five rebounds and five assists per game.
There is no arguing the ease with which Fears was able to get to the basket without the need for a screen, but there is also no argument that it will not be that easy in the Big Ten. Fears also showed the ability to hit from beyond the arc, yet none of that was put on display during the 2023 McDonald’s All-American game as he came off the bench for 14 minutes at shooting guard to promptly miss the five field goals he attempted while finishing with zero points and four assists. The freshman looks to be the prototypical Coach Izzo player that will have time to develop as an underclassman and prepare for a dominant senior year when the time comes.
Shooting Guard: Tyson Walker and Tre Holloman
Tyson Walker: 14.8ppg / 2.9 apg / 41% 3pt
There is little doubt that the 6-foot fifth-year senior will spend some time as the primary ball-handler, such was the case last season. His team-leading 14.8 points per game, however, is a strong indicator that Walker will be spending most of his time off the ball. Walker was the primary beneficiary of Hoggard’s penetration and dish outs, as well as spotting up beyond the arc when Sissoko would kick out from the post after a screen’n’roll.
His ability to take defenders off the dribble should not be discounted, as that was an instrumental aspect of his game that led him to being named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, but it is his ability to stretch the floor in the half-court and fast break that makes him the Spartan’s biggest threat from deep.
Combined with his ability to create time and space with his dribble, or with the help of a Sissoko screen, there is no question Walker will start every game he is healthy and log the 34 minutes per game he did last season.
Tre Holloman: 1.3 ppg /8.6 mpg
Entering the 2022-23 season, Tre Holloman was the No. 75 ranked freshman. At season’s end, Hollomon had the 80th most total point among freshmen, while logging the 60th most minutes. Not only will Holloman’s stats increase this season, but his role on the court as well. The 6 foot 2 guard did not even average a shot per game last season, but the ones he connected on were off a couple of dribbles and rising up for a mid-range jumper.
His defensive contributions will give him the opportunity to play double-digit minutes and make his 2022-23 per 40 minutes statistics of six points and four rebounds closer to his 2023-24 per game averages.
Small Forward: Jaden Akins, Coen Carr and Jason Whitens
Jaden Akins: 9.8 ppg / 4 rpg /27.4 mpg
The shallowness of Coach Izzo’s depth begins to be revealed in the front court. A natural off-the-ball guard, the 6 foot 4 junior will start each game at the small forward position. His ability to play the two-guard is an asset and by default makes him the backup to Tyson Walker, as Akins is a better option than the aforementioned Tre Holloman.
Akins attempted just under nine field goals per game last season while connecting on forty-two percent of the four three-pointers he attempts per game. Akins is able to create space for open jumpers thanks to his ability to get to his spot just outside the paint using his ‘jab and go’ from beyond the arc. In the same fashion as Walker, Akin is able to spot up and get a rhythm shot off from beyond the arc when his defender sinks to help on the driving Hoggard, or when his defender doubles down on Sissoko.
Coen Carr:
If the No.26 ranked freshman utilizes his athleticism and aggressiveness in the same manner he did in high school, there is an opportunity to capture a fair amount of the minutes Joey Hauser occupied. There is no question that Coach Izzo would like the opportunity to play Atkins at off-guard at times as Walker slides to point and the presence of Carr will make that possible. Carr loves to finish at the rim, whether it is off his defensive efforts or taking his defender baseline. Carr could easily emerge as the Spartans’ most effective freshman.
Jason Whitens: 4.2 mpg
The 6 foot 4 forward will be playing his fifth season and his second since transferring from Western Michigan, where he averaged four points over three seasons. Whitens only tallied up 79 total minutes played last season. The departure of Pierre Brooks, who averaged 14 minutes. may create more playing opportunity for Whitens, but it is expected that Malik Hall will spend more time at the three spot than Whitens.
Power forward: Malik Hall, Jaxon Kohler, and Xavier Booker
Malik Hall: 8.9 ppg / 4.3 rpg
The depth issues continue at the four-spot. Not only will fifth-year senior Malik Hall be spending time at small forward, but he will also be the Spartans’ starting power forward. At 6 foot 7 and 215 pounds, Hall is best suited for the small forward position as he will be able to turn his back and drop his shoulder in order to ‘bully’ his way into the paint. A far cry from being confused with a ‘stretch-four’ Hall did hit two 3-pointers in five different games last season. His ‘ go-to move’ however with be a hop step into the key and finish with a baby hook over his defender.
Jaxon Kohler: 3 ppg / 2.9 rpg / 10.8 mpg
At 6 foot 9 and 240 pounds, the 2022 No. 44 ranked freshman will be spending a lot of time as the backup center as well, further highlighting how thin the Spartans are in the frontcourt. Kohler connected on half of the 99 shots he attempted last season, but his size will be his greatest asset. Despite being a lesser scoring threat than Sissoko, his screen setting ability is just as effective. In his second year, Kohler’s defense and rebounding will dictate just how much playing time Kohler gets as he plays behind and waits to take over for senior Mady Sissoko.
Xavier Booker:
As a 6’10 high schooler, Xavier Booker started and finished a lot of fast breaks, and he finished those fast breaks with a two-handed dunk. Those dunks were a big factor in his 15.2 points per game average with The Cathedral (Indianapolis).
His 8.5 rebounds per game demonstrate his effectiveness in high school, yet in a playoff loss to Ben Davis, the No.13 ranked freshman scored just nine points on four of nine shooting, his second-worst shooting performance of the season. At just 210 pounds, the physical aspect of the Big Ten may take time to adjust to, thus limiting Bookers’ minutes.
Center: Mady Sissoko and Carson Cooper
Mady Sissoko: 5.1 ppg / 6.1 rpg / 61% fg
Typically, the senior year for a former top-forty-ranked freshman is the year that the hard work pays off and potential is met as the player prepares for the next level. In the case of the 6 foot 9 center from Wasatch Academy, due to the return of so many players, his role will remain mostly the same. With zero three-point attempts during his first three seasons with the Spartans, Sissoko’s primary contribution will be on the defensive end and on the boards.
Sissoko was fourth in total rebound percentage, although his rebounds per game placed him fourteenth. On the offensive end, Sissoko will continue to set high screens for Hoggard and Walker then roll to the basket in hopes the ball-handler gets him the ball close to the rim.
Despite showing some creativity around the basket in high school, if Sissoko does not have a clear path to the rim he will kick out to the perimeter, where the ball will be promptly swung for an eventual three-pointer and Sissoko will not even get the assist.
Carson Cooper: 1.5 ppg / 6.6 mpg
The sophomore is 6 foot 11 and his able to finish at the rim. He is not going to create his own shot, his baskets come from the dish when his man leaves to help, or when he concludes a pick-and-roll with an alley-oop dunk. There is some speculation that Cooper will not only be able to cut into Sissoko’s minutes but supplant him as the starting center prior to season’s end.
Neither player moves the needle offensively, but neither are required to with the presence of Hoggard and Walker. The presence of Kohler, however, may move everybody’s minutes downward.