Michigan State Basketball: Is Matt McQuaid a good fit with Pistons?
![MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 05: Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during practice prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 05: Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during practice prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/2c66af7470db54251fd71aa0cd519d29c09eb536b01a2671a1c6600485acc592.jpg)
Former Michigan State basketball guard Matt McQuaid worked out for the Pistons on Tuesday, but could he be a realistic target for Detroit?
“Lights-out shooter from Texas.”
Those were the words used to describe Matt McQuaid out of high school when he committed to Michigan State’s 2015 recruiting class. Little did anyone know what he’d actually turn into.
Captain, leader, shooter, lockdown defender and Big Ten champion. On top of that, he helped lead Michigan State to a Final Four as a senior and won the Big Ten Tournament title as well.
McQuaid had a slow start to his career, averaging 3.5 points on 39 percent shooting as a freshman, but he improved each year, finishing with a 9.8-point average as a senior with a 43 percent conversion rate from the field and 42 percent from the 3-point line. He became a lockdown defender, filling the role left vacant by an injured Josh Langford.
Now he has NBA aspirations which may not have been present at the start of his senior season, but he played himself into consideration. Will he be drafted? All signs point to no, but he could be a top-tier undrafted free agent and the Detroit Pistons could be in the market for a player like McQuaid.
In fact, they invited him for a pre-draft workout on Tuesday afternoon and spoke with him afterward about his mentality and time at MSU.
"Just keeping that underdog mentality."@MSU_Basketball's Matt McQuaid was among the six guys we had in for workouts on Tuesday. We check in with him in Wired presented by @Jeep. pic.twitter.com/aUsrqNFffA
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) June 4, 2019
Could he be a good fit with Detroit and stay close to the program that helped mold him? He’d actually be a perfect fit as the Pistons need perimeter defenders as well as shooters and McQuaid could deliver both for a cheap price tag.
Next. MSU Football: 10 post-spring bold predictions for 2019. dark
Michigan State fans would love to see McQuaid in Detroit ad he’d make perfect sense as an undrafted free agent. Heck, he could be the next Bryn Forbes.