Malik Hall has quietly become the leader we all expected

Malik Hall has been playing well for the past month, or so, and he has quietly become the leader we had all expected.

Malik Hall is arguably the biggest driving force on this team. Sure other guys on the team, like Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard, may have more control over the offense, but I’d argue what Hall brings to the game impacts the team the most.

A few games ago, he had the most unforgettable performance of his career. In MSU’s 88-74 loss to Northwestern, he failed to record a single stat in the 25 minutes he played. Since that game, however, Hall has responded massively.

Malik Hall’s dominance in the last three games

Since the Northwestern game, Hall has been firing on all cylinders offensively. In these three games, he is averaging 15 points, 8.3 rebounds, and three assists per game. You honestly couldn’t ask for a better statistical showing from him than that. He has been all over the court, scoring when he needs to, getting massive rebounds, and setting his teammates up.

Hall has also ramped it up on the defensive end. He typically isn’t someone who gets a lot of steals, but he’s gotten one in two of the last three games. His defensive intensity has also been much improved recently as well. Even his leadership, which usually isn’t in question, has felt improved as well.

In my eyes, Malik Hall is the key to Michigan State offensively. At this point, we know what Walker and Hoggard will give us each game, but the same hasn’t always been true for Hall. This season, the Spartans are 7-3 when Malik scores in double figures and only 4-4 when he fails to. If that doesn’t tell you how important he is to this team then nothing will.

We now need this version of Hall to show up in their next couple of games. Michigan State is yet to win a road game this season and they now have two in a row against Maryland and Wisconsin. If the Spartans want a chance at winning even one of these games, Hall is going to have to keep this hot run of his going strong.