Michigan State Basketball: Is AJ Hoggard the answer at point guard?

A.J. Hoggard, a freshman from Pennsylvania, made his first career start at Nebraska. Is he the long term solution for Michigan State basketball at the one?

Filling in Cassius Winston’s shoes at point guard was never going to be easy, but the struggle has been much more than Tom Izzo and Michigan State expected. In A.J. Hoggard’s first career start, he put up a stat line of four points on 2-of-3 shooting, five assists, three boards and two blocks in 24 minutes of action.

Hoggard’s performance was impressive in terms of things that do not show up on the stat sheet, he played hard on defense and did a good job of running the offense. This was the first game in Big Ten play where Michigan State didn’t get absolutely torched by an opposing point guard.

Also, the Spartans scored 84 points against Nebraska, the most since a win over Oakland on Dec. 13. Hoggard recorded only one turnover, which is also a major plus.

At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Hoggard brings a bit of a different build and play style to the floor than the other point guards on the roster. His stocky  He reminds me a bit of Winston in a way. Hoggard uses angles and swift movements to get past his man. He is not someone with an elite first step or overall elite speed with the ball in his hands. He does bring a tremendous amount of toughness and can rebound very well for a guard.

The thing that really sets Hoggard apart is his natural vision as the quarterback of the offense. He simply makes great passes. When handling the ball he has hasty movements that lead to opportunities for himself, or his teammates. Hoggard is not a great shooter yet, but he does possess a good driving ability and presence around the hoop on offense.

Hoggard still is a true freshman that needs to learn a lot. Foster Loyer is clearly not good enough to be a starting point guard in the Big Ten and Rocket Watts has been struggling, especially on offense.

Given that, Hoggard should remain in the starting spot with Watts and Loyer being the spark plugs off the bench.

Hoggard is the best natural passer of the three and he does everything well. He is efficient and can hold his own on both sides of the ball. Loyer struggles on defense and Watts isn’t as good of a passer. Moving Watts to shooting guard and Langford to the bench is an option, but it doesn’t seem like Izzo has any interest in that right now. If Hoggard gets the starting minutes now and plays with the top unit it will pay dividends in March when guard play is key.

Now even though Hoggard looked very solid in his start, it was against Nebraska. No disrespect to Fred Hoiberg, but as of now, Nebraska is the worst team in the conference. Hoggard has played well in some limited minutes off the bench, but obviously that is different than starting.

Michigan State takes on Rutgers Tuesday night at the Breslin Center. Hoggard will most likely start and it will be a tough test. Veteran Geo Baker is one of the conference’s best guards and Hoggard will have to be on his A-game. This will be a fun, intriguing matchup for Hoggard. Look for the Spartans to knock off one of the best squads in the Big Ten with Hoggard leading the charge.