Predicting Michigan State basketball’s starting 5 vs. Eastern Michigan

Shooting Guard: Joshua Langford, Senior

Welcome back, Joshua Langford.

After two major surgeries to his foot that kept him out of the second half of the 2018-19 season and the entirety of the 2019-20 season, Langford is finally back on the court for the Spartans for the first time since 2018. All the reports are that he is healthy and ready to go.

Langford should be a sight for sore eyes for Spartan fans, as they have definitely missed his patented contested, step-back, mid-range jump shot that he was so automatic at. Langford helped lead the Spartans to wins over Texas and UCLA early in the 2018 season.

Before he got injured, Langford looked like Michigan State’s best player. He was a 40 percent three-point shooter and was the top perimeter defender on the team. When he went down, it didn’t look good for the Spartans chances at making the Final Four. Thankfully, Winston and Matt McQuaid stepped up and led them there.

Langford’s return provides a good dose of offense, defense and leadership on and off the court. He spent last season rehabbing and mentoring players on the team. It will be exciting to see him back on the court after it looked like he might not play basketball in East Lansing again.