Michigan State Basketball: Has Aaron Henry been a disappointment?

Aaron Henry has been a topic of conversation for Michigan State basketball. Is he a disappointment this season, or is he just being viewed the wrong way?

After a brutal 71-42 loss to Purdue this past Sunday, as usual, Spartan fans went into a frenzy. It definitely wasn’t a game to remember. Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston struggled, along with forward Xavier Tillman.

Sophomore forward Aaron Henry didn’t play good either, only recording three points and five rebounds. This stat line has seemed to be the normal for him as of late, only scoring a combined 16 points in the last three games.

The biggest problem for Henry this season has been consistency. One night, he can drop 16 points, then the next he’ll drop two, with one of them being a free throw. With this being said, has he been disappointing this season, or are we just expecting the wrong things from him?

I’m going to be honest, my first answer to this question was yes, he’s been disappointing. But after thinking about it, I think I’m just expecting too much from him. That isn’t a diss towards him whatsoever, it’s more of me wanting too much too fast.

Henry is only a sophomore. He still has a lot of growing and maturing to do. Some people expected him to be the other main ball-handler not named Cassius. I just don’t think that’s his style of play offensively.

Henry is a scorer, plain and simple. He has a shoot-first mentality and always tries to use his size to drive to the hoop.

However, I think his defensive ability goes unnoticed. All fans do, is look at his points after each game, and make an assessment based on that.

Aaron is a superb defender. His size and strength lets him go toe-to-toe with the big guys down low. He plays aggressively as well, he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and cause some havoc.

Spartan Nation needs to give Henry some time. Like one of my colleagues said, he’s that one X-factor piece that MSU needs to elevate themselves. He’s shown flashes that he can be that piece, it’s just a matter of when he’ll put it all together.

I fully expect Henry to get hot as the season goes on. By the time we hit March, he’ll be at full force.