Michigan State basketball: Backcourt remains unclear as transfer deadline passes

The transfer portal deadline officially passed on Thursday night and the Michigan State basketball backcourt is still unclear.

The window for college basketball players to enter the transfer portal has officially come and gone, but the Michigan State basketball backcourt still remains unclear.

The futures of AJ Hoggard and Jaden Akins are still unclear with both having entered their names into the NBA draft. Thursday, May 11, was the last day for any basketball player to enter their name in the portal and we so far have not seen either name announced as having done so. However, just because we haven’t received that news yet doesn’t mean they officially have not.

It can take up to 1-2 business days for the athletes name to officially hit the portal as they have to rely on their school’s compliance office doing it for them. So, theoretically, either Hoggard or Akins could have entered the portal but Michigan State’s office just hasn’t finished up the paperwork yet.

We should know by May 15 or May 16 if either player has entered the portal. No news is good news for Spartan fans, so if we get through those days and haven’t heard anything then we can safely assume neither entered the portal.

The next question for both would be if they withdraw their name from the NBA draft. The deadline to do so is June 1, so Hoggard and Akins still have time to make their decisions on that front.

However, both players did not receive an invite to the NBA or G-League combines, so to me the writing is on the wall that neither would get drafted this year.

If I had to bet on it, I would expect neither MSU player to enter the portal nor keep their name in the draft. Only time will tell, but I expect to see both Hoggard and Akins back with Michigan State basketball, leading one of the best teams in the country.