Michigan State Basketball: What should starting 5 look like after 6-3 start?

Michigan State Basketball: What should starting 5 look like after Minnesota loss?

Dec 4, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Aaron Henry (0) and guard A.J. Hoggard (11) celebrate from the bench during the second half against the Detroit Titans at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

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Aaron Henry, Michigan State basketball Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Small forward: Aaron Henry

You’re seeing this correctly, I don’t think we should have Aaron Henry coming off the bench anymore because clearly that messed with his confidence. Tom Izzo was trying to send a message by sitting him to start the game against Minnesota and that led to an ugly 3-for-10 shooting performance where he was just taking poor shots all game.

Make sure Henry starts from here on out and with AJ Hoggard and Rocket Watts now making up the backcourt, Joshua Langford should be coming off the bench.

Langford is going through a bit of an offensive slump and while he’s not playing poorly overall, he would be a good punch off the bench. And Henry is the team’s best small forward, so giving him the nod on the wing just makes sense.

Henry is in his own head right now, that much is obvious. He’s shooting just 39 percent from the floor this season and he’s even worse from beyond the arc, making just 17 percent of his shots from deep. His minutes are even down this season.

Confidence seems to be waning at the moment and the only way that changes is if Izzo starts him and lets him know that he still believes he can be ‘the guy’ for MSU this year.

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