Michigan State Basketball: The revitalization of Joshua Langford

It’s been a tough road for Michigan State basketball’s Joshua Langford but his career got a shot in the arm in a monster game against Illinois.

Joshua Langford was roughly one-third of the way through his junior season when he was well on his way to stardom. He was fresh-off a spectacular 29-point outburst in the Las Vegas Invitational title game to lead Michigan State over Texas, 78-68. The 6-foot-5 Alabama native and Cassius Winston were establishing themselves as the one of the best backcourts in the nation. Langford was averaging 15 points per game while draining over 40 percent of his threes. A foot injury forced his breakout year to come to an abrupt halt not long after that.

He originally was cleared to resume practice late in the summer of 2019 yet he suffered another setback which eventually caused him to undergo a second surgery on his left foot and scratch his entire 2019-20 season.

Frustration surely set in for Langford when he missed a year and a half of action. It’s safe to say he entertained the thought of forgoing his remaining eligibility to pursue professional basketball options, whether that have been opportunities domestically (possibly the NBA G-League) or overseas (in the various European leagues, Australian NBL, China’s CBA, etc.). He took the unconventional route and decided to return to East Lansing.

Langford hasn’t matched the production of his junior campaign or even his sophomore year (11.7 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc) but his presence in the lineup has given the Spartans at least a slim chance of extending their active NCAA tournament birth streak to 23.

Outside of Aaron Henry, Langford as of late has emerged as the most consistent scoring threat throughout the 2020-21 season for Tom Izzo’s squad. Michigan State hasn’t lived up to its lofty expectations but Langford’s leadership, shooting, steady defense, and basketball IQ have kept them from completely falling apart.

His 15-point, 16-rebound performance was a statement game for Langford and arguably his best outing since he torched the Longhorns back in November of 2018. It was Charlie Bell-esque.

Unfortunate circumstances and bad breaks tested his resilience. Michigan State fighting and clawing for a postseason bid is pressure that causes many players to crumble. For Joshua Langford, a player who has battled back from multiple major operations, he is happy to be healthy and without a doubt, the savvy senior relishes this type of challenge in front of him. He’s not supposed to be here, playing this well, potentially leading the Spartans on a magical late-season run.

You rarely see five-star high school recruits play that many years for their college of choice but his decision to spend one more season at Michigan State is paying off for himself and his team.