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Michigan State Basketball: Josh Langford has most room for growth in 2017-18

By Connor Muldowney

Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) reacts during the second half against the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) reacts during the second half against the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /
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When you look at the Michigan State basketball roster, one player stands to grow the most in 2017-18 — Josh Langford.

Little do people remember, before the commitments of Cassius Winston and Miles Bridges, Josh Langford was the splash landing for Michigan State basketball. The Spartans’ 2016 class had just Nick Ward, but Langford surprised some people when he took a trip to East Lansing over the summer and committed to MSU.

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The Alabama-native was considered the biggest get for Tom Izzo in years and it was a pledge that not many saw coming — especially that quickly. He was named a McDonald’s All-American during his senior season and came to Michigan State with high hopes.

However, he suffered a hamstring injury before the first game and it seemed to bother him throughout the first couple of months. While he still saw the floor 20-plus minutes per game, it was obvious that his conditioning just wasn’t at the same level of his fellow freshmen.

Just a step slow and hesitant to really provide a burst into the lane, Langford was stuck around the perimeter, taking open shots if they came his way.

Near the end of the season, though, he began to drive the lane more and even showed flashes of what he could bring to the table with a full offseason of conditioning and training. He has a nice jump-step move which gets him past defenders and to the bucket with relative ease, but his explosiveness wasn’t quite there yet.

One thing he doesn’t need to work on all that much is his shot. He made about 50 percent of his shots from the floor in 2016-17 and 41 percent from 3-point range. If he remains effective in that regard, Langford’s game could develop into one of the most crucial to the Spartans’ success in the next couple of years.

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Although he’s already an impressive athlete who got much better at the end of the season, Langford has the most room for growth of any player — even more than Cassius Winston, Miles Bridges and Nick Ward — in 2017-18.

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