This past offseason, Michigan State basketball lost three starting-caliber shooting guards, all for three different reasons. Jaden Akins went to the G-League after using up his eligibility. Tre Holloman transferred to NC State. And Jase Richardson went to the NBA. Going into the season, Tom Izzo tried to shore up that position, adding veteran Trey Fort from Samford through the transfer portal, and the Spartans also had Kur Teng already on the roster. But it was another transfer, one who was projected to be the team’s backup point guard, who ended up being the most effective 2-guard on the roster.
Ugochukwu was expected to be there to give Jeremy Fears Jr. some much-needed rest here and there throughout the season as the backup point guard. Instead, he shot 44 percent from three, played great defense, and ended up being the starting shooting guard and still handling the backup point guard duties as well. However, that all came to a screeching halt in early February, when Ugochukwu suffered a broken foot in a game that ended up being a loss to lowly Minnesota.
Ugochukwu was a revelation this year, solidifying a position that had a lot of question marks. With Ugochukwu in the lineup, the Spartans had one of the top defenses in the country and enough ball-handling to survive when Fears had to take a breather. Now, MSU is back to their initial problem at that position, and I think it’s partially responsible for the Spartans’ early exit from the Big Ten Tournament.
MSU has several interesting options to plug in at that spot, but they all come with their own downsides. Kur Teng is probably the best shooter on the team, but his defense isn’t quite ready for a starting spot. Jordan Scott has been a breakout impact player this season, but he’s really a small forward and can sometimes be a step slow for faster shooting guards, and he’s also probably asked to do a little too much on offense in that position. The X-Factor could be Trey Fort, who hasn’t had a consistent opportunity for minutes this year, but looked good in MSU’s loss to UCLA.
This will be a very important position to monitor as the NCAA Tournament kicks off this week.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Loss of Divine Ugochukwu rearing it’s head for MSU down the stretch
Reporting by Andrew Brewster, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
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