Michigan State Basketball: What does Tyson Walker bring to the table?

Tom Izzo landed one of the top point guard transfers on the market in Northeastern’s Tyson Walker. What does this mean for MSU?

Tom Izzo took a page out of Mel Tucker’s book by using the transfer portal to shake up his roster by adding a seasoned playmaker.

During a February press conference, Izzo alluded to his displeasure with his team’s performance at times this season. It was at that moment, that every one of his players, felt a sense of uneasiness. Nobody’s position was safe (outside of Aaron Henry of course).

Moving forward, Izzo is going to hold his team accountable. A15-13 finish falls well short of living up to the standards of Spartan hoops.

Michigan State wasted no time addressing their weakest link on their roster. After an arduous season came to an abrupt halt during a late-game collapse during the first day of the 2021 NCAA Tournament (which saw MSU cough up a 14-point advantage to UCLA), the Spartan coaching staff put a full-court press on Northeastern sophomore guard Tyson Walker (after he decided to make the leap from the mid-major level to the unforgiving jungle that is high-major college basketball) and landed him over the likes of Kansas, Texas, Miami, Vanderbilt, and Maryland.

This move shows that the program has a bitter taste in their mouth following a season where they performed well below expectations. After starting the year 6-0 and rising all the way in the rankings to No. 4 in the nation, inconsistency, COVID-19-related pauses, poor effort from their big men, and horrible point guard play doomed them. Coach Izzo jumped at the opportunity to resolve the latter of those issues by bringing in Walker.

Walker is coming off a tremendous season for Northeastern. He averaged 18.8 points per game, and 4.8 assists per game. He carried his team to a Colonial Athletic Association regular season title (thanks in large part to a 7-game win streak in January). He was voted first team all-CAA and was chosen as the league’s defensive player of the year (the New York native had 2.4 steals per game this season).

He’s a terrific two-way floor general. He shot over 44 percent from the field, nailed roughly 35 percent of his 3-point tries, and sank 77 percent of his free throws. He will have to clean up his turnovers (he averaged more than three per game) but a number of those could be due to the heavy minutes he was logging for the Huskies. He scored in double figures 18 times out of 19 total games and hit the 20-point mark in eight games. He’s a difference maker.

Walker provides an immediate upgrade as Izzo’s leader and primary ball handler. The confidence of Foster Loyer and AJ Hoggard was absent. Their lack of explosiveness hampers their effectiveness on the floor and leaves them exposed on the defensive end. This pair has more bad moments than good. Rocket Watts was far too erratic at the one. He’s better suited playing off the ball.

This pickup takes a lot of pressure off of incoming highly-touted and extremely athletic point guard Jaden Akins to be a savior and star from day one. He can ease into his role and acclimate himself to the college game with Walker in the fold.

He will benefit from an intense offseason in MSU’s strength and conditioning program. He is listed at 162 pounds so Marshall Repp surely can’t wait to get his hands on a talent like Walker to put some muscle on him as they will prepare his frame to deal with the rigors of the physical style of play that comes with the territory in gauntlet that is Big Ten basketball.

If you recall, last year around this time, Michigan State narrowly missed out on a coveted transfer guard in Carlik Jones. Jones had Michigan State in his final three. He elected to commit to Louisville where he went on to average nearly 17 points per game. The Spartans could have used his production and experience this year to alleviate the workload of Henry and give the offense life. Izzo was determined to not strike out this time around.

The argument can’t be made that Walker is not capable of holding his own against stronger competition. He had a 19-point, 6-assist showing against Georgia and a 27-point outburst against North Carolina. He’s a gamer. You know he’s as gritty as they come. Walker grew up playing pickup basketball on the concrete courts of Rucker Park, Long Island, Queens, and several other boroughs across the Empire State. That toughness is extremely appealing to a coach like Tom Izzo.

Breaking down tape on Walker, he attacks and probes a defense at all three levels. He’s phenomenal on dribble penetration and excels at finishing a drive. He’s solid (but not quite elite) as a shooter. He will work to refine his jumper during his time in East Lansing. His scoring punch is desperately needed though, especially if Henry decides to jump to the NBA. It will be a thrill to see what type impact he, Max Christie and Pierre Brooks can have on the 2021-22 unit as newcomers who will give the program a shot in the arm.

Michigan State has more players on their roster than they have scholarships available. We will see 1-3 more Spartans follow departing reserve point guard Jack Hoiberg into the portal to find more minutes at a different school.

Izzo’s irritability (which was justified) made it loud and clear that a mediocre season will not be tolerated around these parts. With the pressure on the coaches to retool, they started the offseason with a bang by reeling in Walker.