Michigan State Basketball: 3 Spartans with the most to prove in 2020-21

Noticing a theme here? Marcus Bingham Jr., like Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown, is a junior and we can probably call their class the “prove it or lose it” class. They either prove themselves in 2020-21 or lose their spots in the rotation.

Henry may be past the point of losing his spot as he’s been a starter for the better part of two seasons, but Gabe and Marcus have been jockeying for minutes off the bench.

Bingham Jr. has the most to prove of anyone on the team heading into the season because of the depth in the post and the fact that he needs to add some weight to be a serviceable big for the Spartans. He was expected to break out in 2019-20 but didn’t do anything special — at least on offense. His defense improved, but he didn’t add much weight in the offseason.

On offense, his 3-point shooting percentage nose-dived. He went from a 43 percent shooter as a freshman to 18 percent as a sophomore. People stopped respecting his outside game.

In the post, he was basically a non-factor. No one expected him to hit a baby-hook or turnaround jumper and he didn’t even attempt many. He averaged 3.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 11.1 minutes because he didn’t have the conditioning that he needed.

The 2020-21 season is a put up or shut up year for Bingham Jr. We hear all about the hype surrounding his game and how he could be Adreian Payne 2.0, but we’ve yet to see it.

It’s proving time.