Michigan State Basketball: 3 reasons Aaron Henry will return for junior year

2. Consistency issues

On the same note as his ball handling issues, Aaron Henry has struggled with consistency over the course of his first two seasons in East Lansing. Simply put, he gets too far into his own head.

Henry is one of the most talented guys in the Big Ten and that natural ability will get him to the NBA one day, but he’s not going to last if he can’t shake off a bad pass, missed shot or poor defensive stand. It doesn’t help that he constantly feels the wrath of Tom Izzo on the sideline, but that proved to be beneficial during the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

Henry feasts on constructive criticism but when he’s getting ripped into on the sideline, he can sometimes go into a shell and he doesn’t quite perform like he should afterward. He can become passive and disappears in the big scheme of things as to not make more mistakes to get in even hotter water.

Izzo can get the best out of him and we’ve seen that on multiple occasions. There’s a certain way Henry likes to be coached and Izzo has had a tough time finding that happy medium so he can get more consistency out of his star wing.

Coming back for another season as the go-to guy on offense and playing free will be huge for Henry. It’s time for him to not think so much and to just play. When he works on improving his handles, his entire game will improve and he won’t have to deal with that confidence decreasing.

NBA teams want to see a more consistent Henry, not just the one who breaks out in cycles.