Michigan State Basketball: Marcus Bingham Jr. next elite defensive big?

Marcus Bingham Jr. has been fantastic on defense this season. Is he making a case for himself to be the next great defender for Michigan State basketball?

It wasn’t too long ago when Marcus Bingham Jr. was a tall, slender kid making his way on to the Michigan State campus on a full basketball scholarship.

When Bingham Jr. made it to East Lansing, he was raw, but his high ceiling and energy are something that fans have always had an eye on.

Bingham Jr. stands tall at 6-foot-11, 225 pounds and his long arms make it tough for any player to get a shot off over him. His body is something that he was worked very hard on this offseason to get bigger, faster, and stronger. Look at this picture, Bingham Jr. is really starting to fill out and get some solid muscle added to his frame.

The hard work in the weight room has proven to make a difference for Bingham Jr.; so far he has six blocks through two games on the season. That includes his four blocks in 15 minutes against Notre Dame on Saturday night. Not only does Bingham Jr. block shots, but he provides a reliable amount of help defense and always has his hand up to contest the shot.

Bingham Jr. is no stranger to good defense, though. Coming into the 2020 season, Bingham Jr. in only eight minutes per game averaged one block. He would be on pace for three blocks a game if he played 24 minutes on average. Is it likely he would keep those numbers up? Probably not. But the way Bingham Jr. has performed in a small sample size just shows how much potential he really has.

Obviously, it’s not easy replacing Xavier Tillman, the 2019-20 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, but Bingham Jr. has been playing quite well in that role on the block. On Tuesday, Bingham Jr. will be asked to go up against five-star freshman Jalen Johnson of the Duke Blue Devils. He also might be tasked to guard a pair of talented forwards in Matthew Hurt and freshman Mark Williams, a 7-footer.

Michigan State has not played any superior opponents yet this season and Duke could prove to be the first one. Bingham Jr.’s hard work this offseason is for games like Tuesday night’s. If he yet again has another strong performance in the paint on the defensive end of the court, he might find himself in the starting lineup moving forward.

Deyonta Davis, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Tillman have been some elite defensive big men on recent Tom Izzo teams and Bingham Jr. could be next if he keeps up the stellar production.