Michigan State basketball: AJ Hoggard could be Big Ten foe next season

Former Michigan State basketball starter AJ Hoggard has announced his top five schools and he could soon be a Big Ten foe.

It’s been an interesting year for Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball. And by interesting, I mean it’s been a roller-coaster.

First, the Spartans were ranked in the top five to start the season and then they quickly fell out of the rankings thanks to a sub-.500 start and loss to James Madison at home in the opener. Then they got hot and shellacked Baylor and went on a winning streak heading into Christmas break before losing Jeremy Fears for the season after he was shot in the leg in his hometown. Michigan State was up-and-down in Big Ten play but showed flashes of being that top-five team. Never enough, though, to chase a conference title. The Spartans were then beaten in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by 1-seed North Carolina after holding an early double-digit lead.

A big reason for the struggles was the inconsistency from starting point guard AJ Hoggard.

The senior point guard was supposed to be the best point guard in the Big Ten and one of the best in the country after finishing 2022-23 strong with a Sweet 16 run, but he fell short of all expectations. He became one of the most criticized players and it seemed to take a toll on him.

READ: Projected post-spring 2-deep depth chart for MSU football in 2024

Following the 2023-24 season, he had the option to come back to East Lansing for a fifth year, but Tom Izzo made it clear that he wouldn’t be back. Shortly after, Hoggard entered the transfer portal.

And on Sunday, he released his top five transfer destinations for his final season of college basketball. And he may be a Big Ten foe next year.

Sources: Michigan State transfer A.J. Hoggard has cut his list to the following programs.

Florida
Georgia
Vanderbilt
USC
Washington

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 5, 2024

Florida, Georgia, Vanderbilt, USC, and Washington are his finalists and the latter two would mean he’d face the Spartans next season. If he chooses Washington, he will make a trip to the Breslin Center next season. If he chooses USC, he will host the Spartans only.

It’ll be interesting to see if he ends up in the Big Ten next year.