Michigan State Basketball: Nick Ward can become Spartan legend
Nick Ward must make a decision regarding his NBA future by Wednesday evening, but he could become a Michigan State basketball great.
Tick tock — Nick Ward is on the clock. Just hours away from the early entrant decision deadline, the Michigan State big man has to weigh his options one final time before making a choice.
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On one hand, Ward believes he is ready to take that next step and play professional basketball somewhere — whether it’s the NBA, Europe or the G-League remains to be seen. On the other, he knows that there’s a good possibility he’d end up lost in the mix during NBA Summer League play, eventually making the move to the G-League or Europe. Ward must know another year at Michigan State will help his game immensely.
Ward is a 6-9 power forward without a jump shot who also has struggled defensively in his two years in East Lansing. Although he’s crazy efficient, NBA teams aren’t desperate for big men who can’t stretch the floor or defend the perimeter — the new era of NBA bigs play inside-out.
On May 30, Ward must decide if he’s coming back for his junior season or attempting to make a name for himself in the NBA draft and/or Summer League.
He has a chance to become a Spartan legend.
How, you ask? Ward has already become one of the most efficient players in college basketball and if he were to see the court for 20-25 minutes consistently (assuming he improves his defense), he could average 20 points and 10-plus rebounds. He could improve his draft stock from late-second round to undrafted to early-second or even late-first in a year’s time.
Ward could crush the ‘he hates Tom Izzo’ talk and return to Michigan State to work together with the Hall of Fame head coach in order to get to the NBA at the right time.
We’ve seen players butt heads with Izzo over the years only to come out better off than they entered the program. Izzo has a tendency to push the players he believes in most — just ask Jaren Jackson Jr. who often seemed frustrated with how much investment Izzo put into talking his ear off on the bench.
Derrick Nix is a good example of this. The two seemed to go at it every now and then, but Nix progressed throughout his Spartan career, even when it seemed like he was unhappy.
Ward has the potential to have a much more extended career in basketball than Nix did. He’s explosive in the post with plenty of moves and a soft touch around the rim. The multi-time Big Ten Player of the Week award winner could be a strong conference player of the year candidate as well with a return.
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The name Nick Ward could be one echoed for years if he does decide to return for his junior year, putting his differences with Izzo aside for the better of his career as well as his teammates at Michigan State.