Michigan State basketball: Analyzing notes from summer practices

Michigan State basketball has been busy this summer and someone who was in attendance at camp shared their thoughts.

Troy Distelrath, who sat in on numerous Michigan State basketball summer practices, recently released his observations from said practices.

Let’s go through the new info and break down some main points.

.@SpartanHoops_DK here are my thoughts after watching a week of summer practices:🧵

— Troy Distelrath (@TroyDistelrath) June 18, 2023

Sophomores show growth

Distelrath notes that all three sophomores (Jaxon Kohler, Tre Holloman, and Carson Cooper) have put on some muscle and look more comfortable. This was somewhat expected — players often really settle in their second year — but it’s still good to see for sure. Holloman will be needed soon — it’s possible all three of AJ Hoggard, Tyson Walker, and Jaden Akins could be gone after this season. A more confident Kohler will also be useful, providing solid minutes at power forward. If Cooper can build on some nice flashes from 2022 and be a solid backup center for Mady Sissoko, that will help a lot as well.

A.J. Hoggard (and other guards) is even better

According to Tom Izzo himself, starting point guard AJ Hoggard has had “a hell of a month, lost weight, and worked a lot on his shot.” This is great to hear because while Hoggard did an outstanding job in 2022-23, he wasn’t much of a sharpshooter. If he can add a legitimate three-point shot to his bag of tricks, he’s going to be a very, very dangerous player when you factor in his playmaking and finishing abilities.

Fans watched Hoggard take a leap from 2021 to 2022, and if he’s ready to take another one, MSU looks more dangerous than ever.

Troy noted that all three projected starting guards scrimmaged at a high level, but Akins jumped out as more assertive than last year. It should be a lot of fun to watch a more confident and bold Akins in 2023, especially given his uncommon athleticism.

Booker has some work to do

This wasn’t entirely unexpected, but it appears that incoming freshman and former five-star recruit Xavier Booker isn’t terribly polished. Distelrath noted that Booker’s shot selection was subpar during scrimmages; he appeared to be somewhat rawer than a guy like Jaren Jackson Jr. was coming in. It is worth noting, though, that the scrimmages were only half-court. Booker undoubtedly shines in transition offense, but he didn’t really get the chance to showcase that key part of his game.

Overall, remember that he is, after all, a first-year player, and it’s extremely early. There are going to be growing pains.

I wouldn’t worry too much, personally. There are months to go until the season, and the high school-college transition can be tricky for anyone.

Jeremy Fears looks as advertised

There was a decidedly limited sample size of Jeremy Fears at summer practices due to his commitment to Team USA basketball, but he was impressive regardless. Distelrath wrote that Fears appeared to have the “it” factor, and could be poised to eventually join Michigan State’s long lineage of excellent point guards. One can hardly draw any long-term conclusions from such a small amount of information, but Fears hitting the ground running bodes well for his future at MSU.

It’s likely he’ll need to take over the starting point guard job by next year, as it seems reasonable that both Hoggard and Walker could be in the NBA this time next year. The sooner Fears is ready, the better.

MSU looks poised to win Tom Izzo’s second title

There was the overall feeling among everyone present that the Spartans have something special, per Distelrath. He quotes Izzo as ending camp with: “It’s time to go hang another banner.” And if that doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will.

Izzo noted that the team has been great, both on the basketball court and in the classroom — the Hall of Fame coach clearly loves this group of guys.

At the end of the day, though, it’s important to remember that this was just a week of summer practice. It’s about as early in the season as it gets, so I’d try not to overreact much either way to any information you hear. That said, Michigan State appears ready to have a very, very good basketball season and I think that fans have a lot to look forward to for the 2023 campaign.

We’re going to have some fun.

See y’all in November.

All information and quotes are from Troy Distelrath via Twitter. Troy Distelrath is not an official insider with the program. I trust that these are legitimate observations from legitimate viewings, but none of this should be treated as official. Thanks.