Michigan State Basketball: Making case for each starting center option

Heading into his junior year, Marcus Bingham Jr. has a lot to prove.

After showing flashes of the potential that Tom Izzo heaped onto him in his freshman campaign, Bingham struggled to find consistent footing in the rotation. Even though he was playing behind more experienced big men in the 2018-19 season, he played just 83 minutes, recording only one point per game. He did, however, show off a solid three-point shot, nailing 6-of-14 long balls on the season.

Bingham was expected to take on more of a role in 2019-20, but never played up to those expectations. He only appeared in 16 games, bumping his minute total up to 21 per game. The 6-foot-10 forward with a monstrous 7-foot-4 wingspan was a great defensive player, swatting away 42 shots. Not many players who put up a shot against Bingham had much success, it usually ended up as a rejection.

The disappointing part of his game was his offense. He got almost no production by himself, most of his buckets were off good feeds from others or put-back dunks. His three ball showed no improvement, only hitting five of the 28 he shot on the season for just south of 18 percent.

There has always been loads of talent when it comes to Bingham Jr., the biggest issue is consistency. He’s a legitimately good defender, and he can be a very good rebounder if he stays down low. He needs to make big strides in his offensive game. His post game could use some work, and he can only go up from how bad he shot the three last season.

Bingham is the most talented big man on the roster, and if he can put it all together, the Spartans might not be hurting for Xavier Tillman too badly.