Michigan State basketball: Jaden Akins finally got back on track

Jaden Akins looks like he finally got on track offensively against Stony Brook and that’s good news for Michigan State basketball.

This is something I think we’ve all been anxiously waiting for. Tyson Walker has been elite all season and AJ Hoggard has recently been coming into form. Now Michigan State basketball just needed that third player to step up and contribute in a big way.

Enter Jaden Akins.

Coming into this season, we knew this team was going to play through Walker and Hoggard. But we also knew that Akins was going to have to play a big part if Michigan State was going to accomplish their goals. Akins has been solid this season, scoring double figures in seven of eleven games heading into Thursday night’s game. What we’ve been waiting for however is that game where Akins explodes onto the scene.

He finally did that on Thursday night after scoring a career-high 22 points.

New career-high for JA tonight 📈📈 pic.twitter.com/kEJVDEdSan

— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) December 22, 2023

Tom Izzo speaks on Akins’ performance

During Tom Izzo’s postgame press conference, he spoke on Jaden’s performance in the Spartans 99-55 victory over Stony Brook.

Ryan O’Bleness with Spartan Rivals shared that Izzo stated, “Jaden Akins probably had his best game in a long time … that’s encouraging.”

Tom Izzo on Jaden Akins: "Jaden Akins probably had his best game in a long time … that's encouraging."

— Ryan O'Bleness (@ryanobleness) December 22, 2023

Not only was this Akins’ best game in a long time, it may just have been his best game ever in a Spartan uniform. On top of his career-high point total, Jaden also added three assists.

The only other game that comes to mind that Jaden may have played better in was last year’s Sweet 16 loss to Kansas State. That game Akins finished with 16 points (4-for-5 from 3-point range), four rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and a steal. So based on that game being a bigger moment and he had a more all around game, I think it’s fair to say last year’s tournament game was probably Akins’ best.

But nonetheless, Akins hopefully turned a corner last night. Now I don’t expect 20-plus points from him every night, but I do think he needs to be a double-digit scorer every night. He also needs to have the occasional game like last night where he explodes for 20+ points.

Regardless, Akins’ confidence seems to be rising, and this is the perfect time with Big Ten play resuming soon.