HOLT — Cam Ward is up 20 pounds. Jordan Scott 15 — much of it, it appears, in his biceps, which he held proudly Tuesday after his Moneyball Pro-Am game, as he laughed about the difference from just a couple months ago.
Ward and Scott aren’t the first Michigan State players to return for their sophomore seasons having reshaped their physiques. It’s often part of the journey for a young player who’s learned they’re not strong enough for the rigors of major college basketball. What makes Ward and Scott a little different than some others is how effective and important they were as freshmen, despite their lack of muscle. And the legitimate hope that they’re each just scratching the surface of what they can become. Their importance to this MSU team, despite all of the Spartans’ other intriguing pieces, is undeniable.
Ward is expected to be MSU’s starting power forward and most likely leading rebounder, and a player whose usefulness defensively can’t be understated. He can guard positions 1 through 5 — and probably a few more centers now than he could before he bulked up to 245 pounds. The plan is to play at that weight, as long as he feels athletic and can move how he wants. He didn’t look like he’d slowed down at all Tuesday, as he darted up and down the floor at Moneyball.
“The coaches are trying to reiterate to me, ‘You have to take a step this year and be somebody that we can have down the stretch and go to,’ ” Ward said Tuesday after his game at Holt High School. “I’m just glad that they see me as that guy, and now I’ve just got to put the work in to get to that point.”
Part of having the impact year he hopes to have is doing more of the things he was on his way to doing as a freshman, before a wrist injury against North Carolina on Thanksgiving derailed much of his season, though he played through it. At the time, in that locker room in Fort Myers, Florida, he thought it was just a sprain, as he celebrated one of his most important performances to date. It turned out to be more serious, a fracture that ran below his right wrist that forced him to play with a couple different protective casts, impacting his shooting motion. That could be seen in his free-throw percentage, which, for a while, affected his aggressiveness with the ball in the paint.
“It’s just about (100%),” Ward said. “I can barely feel it now. … From the estimate of what we’ve talked about over the summer, it should be fully healed by like August.
“It was character-building. Coach (Tom Izzo) was kind of on me about it, really, because he just felt like I didn’t try enough to make the most out of my situation. I was kind of throwing a pity party. Just talking to Coach recently, he’s proud of me of how I progressed throughout the year with that, knowing how serious it was.”
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Ward played Tuesday’s game with a recognizable joy, bouncing up and down the court, scoring 34 points. He has a chance to be an elite rebounder. MSU’s coaches knew that last summer when, all of a sudden, Jaxon Kohler was no longer able to grab every rebound in practice.
Meanwhile, Scott’s freshman season, like Jase Richardson a year earlier, was a season few saw coming. While Scott wasn’t the offensive engine Richardson became, MSU was just better with him on the court, and that was apparent early on. Scott’s length, instincts and scrappiness became a package the Spartans needed on the court. His defensive performance against Illinois’ Keegan Wagler in early February — helping to hold the No. 5 pick in Tuesday’s NBA draft to 2-for-16 shooting — became his signature game of the season.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect going into last year, coming as a freshman,” Scott said, “but I know what to expect in games now.”
The question with Scott is what sort of offensive player he’ll become. He wound up making 37 of 100 3-point attempts on the season and scoring in double figures in six straight games in February, though not again during the season’s final eight games, including three in the NCAA tournament. But the potential for the Spartans’ 6-8 shooting guard and wing appears fairly high. With freshman Jasiah Jervis joining the mix and transfer Kaleb Glenn healthy, Scott will have to earn his role again. It’s hard to imagine it won’t be significant.
He’ll have the advantage of a bit more size and strength, too.
“That’s where I feel the most improvement in my game,” Scott said, “I think just getting stronger, jumping higher, moving faster.”
How he framed his goals for this year speaks to why he’s so valuable.
“Just a lot of winning,” Scott said. “I think we left a lot of food on our table last year. We won some big games, lost some big games, and I think with the core that we’re returning and the talent that we’re bringing in, I think we’re going to be looking pretty good.”
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Couch: MSU basketball’s Cam Ward and Jordan Scott return with muscle — and big intentions
Reporting by Graham Couch, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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By Graham Couch, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
