Jaden Akins and A.J. Hoggard (Probably) Returning To Michigan State
Michigan State guards A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins have reportedly withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return to the Spartans for their junior season this coming fall in a pair of tweets from Wednesday.
It was a brief tweet...we mean really brief. But here's Akins tweet from his official Twitter account:
Akins was a main cog for the Spartans this past season, and he helped State in their run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before they lost to Kansas State in overtime.
As far Hoggard goes, he hasn't said anything official either on social media or in a press release, but MSU Basketball's official Twitter account released this on Wednesday:
If in fact, both are coming back next season under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo (pictured). They would join fellow returnees Mady Sissoko, Tyson Walker, and Malik Hall to form the core group of Spartans next season. This would likely make Michigan State one of the favorites in the Big Ten Conference, as well as prime candidates to reach the Final Four next April in Glendale, Arizona's State Farm Stadium. And with highly touted freshman Xavier Booker joining last year's freshmen Tre Holloman, Carson Cooper, and Jaxon Kohler on next year's squad, expectations will be high for the Spartans. Akins averaged 9.8 points and 4 rebounds a game last season while shooting 42% from the field. Hoggard averaged 12.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. He shot 42% from the field as well.
Michigan State Basketball's Potential Rotation For 2023-2024
The return of two senior leaders, who are utilizing an extra year of eligibility afforded them by the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the arrival of four highly touted freshmen, has Michigan State thinking big for the 2023-2024 college basketball season.