Michigan State Basketball: Tyson Walker needs to play big minutes

Michigan State basketball fans got their first taste of the 2021-22 team on Saturday afternoon as Tom Izzo opened his doors for practice.

This year’s team is going to look much different than last season’s, and that’s not exactly a bad thing because the Spartans struggled mightily in 2020-21. Aaron Henry was the star and he’s now gone and Foster Loyer, Rocket Watts, and Thomas Kithier all transferred out of the program. Joshua Langford graduated and effectively retired from basketball.

Izzo’s new additions should do more than just help the Spartans get back to the NCAA Tournament but rather they should make sure a bounce-back season happens.

Max Christie is the headliner of the 2021 recruiting class and Jaden Akins is also a potential star who Izzo said is better than he expected. Pierre Brooks may be more of a project who will one day become a fan favorite (I’m thinking Denzel Valentine type career arc here) but there’s one new guy who needs to be playing big minutes in order for Michigan State to return to the top of the Big Ten.

Who is the new guy? Tyson Walker.

The Northeastern point guard transfer has been flying under the radar this offseason but that may have been an Izzo masterplan. The cat seems to be out of the bag now, however.

Walker was the star of the show at the open practice over the weekend, per reports.

This should make fans feel much better about the point guard position which was a major weakness in 2020-21 with Loyer, Watts, and AJ Hoggard all splitting reps while Henry and Langford handled the ball every now and then as well.

Walker needs to play big minutes for Michigan State basketball

If Michigan State wants to bounce back from a nightmare 2020-21 season, Walker is going to need to play major minutes at the point. If he’s as good consistently as he was in the open scrimmage, he needs to be on the floor close to 25-30 minutes at the point.

The Spartans also have Jaden Akins and AJ Hoggard who can split point guard duties but both also have combo guard abilities, so Walker won’t feel a ton of pressure, but Michigan State will be its best with him at the one for a majority of minutes. Akins and Hoggard can still be on the floor at the same time, but Walker seems to be the clear No. 1 point guard.

And it helps that he has good chemistry with his teammates, namely Joey Hauser.

Izzo and Michigan State need Walker to eat up a lot of minutes at the point this season and if he meets expectations and builds on this open practice performance, the Spartans are going to shock some people.