Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from Battle 4 Atlantis showing

2. Point guards are struggling mightily

Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard have not had the best start to this season as many were hoping for.

Walker is almost non-existent and after having a spectacular couple of games, Hoggard is taking steps in the wrong direction.

Walker is the better point guard all around. He is quick up the floor but he can get the guys into set plays a bit better than Hoggard. However, Walker is not looking for his shot. He is being a pass-first point guard and it is affecting his game and others as well. Walker has had a very slow start to the season.

After averaging nearly 20 points per game last year he is down to only 5.5 points per game. He is adding four assists per game but has a staggering 2.9 turnovers per game as well. Walker has yet to take control of his own game and look for his shots.

In the Battle 4 Atlantis, he did more of the same. He turned the ball over, didn’t look for his shot, and instead passed the ball. He looks timid and scared out there and we need him to find his groove.

Last year when he was averaging nearly 20 points per game he was averaging 8.5 shot attempts per game. This year he is only averaging 5.3 shot attempts per game. Walker needs to take his shot to the rim or find the nice jumper he likes. The Spartans need him to improve his production going forward.

Hoggard looked like he had taken the offseason and improved so many areas of his game. However, he has started to regress and take steps backward instead of continuing that trend forward. He was driving to the basket and being aggressive early but he has slowly shied away from that because of the number of times he was stuffed.

He is also turning the ball over at a rate just under Walker’s at 2.6 per game. He is better in transition and has the whole floor to work with. He struggles in the half-court because he makes late or lazy passes thinking the defense will just surrender. These are things that need to change for Hoggard because the Spartans have seen what he can do now he just needs to be consistent and take what is given to him.

Both of these point guards are able to excel. We have seen it in games. They just have to find consistency and look to take steps forward once leaving Atlantis instead of continuing to plateau or regress.