Michigan State Basketball: Malik Hall is the unsung hero of the Spartans

Malik Hall has been one of the best contributors for Michigan State basketball this season and he needs to start getting more credit.

Thus far in the 21-2022 season, the Michigan State Spartans have had a lot of success, notably from guys like Marcus Bingham, Gabe Brown, and Max Christie.

But, there is one player who has been solid for the Spartans all year that is not getting as much recognition as he should due to him coming off the bench most games. That player is junior forward Malik Hall.

Hall, like the rest of the Spartans, didn’t start too hot in their first few games. Though as the season went on, he has stepped up and is now playing a key role when it comes to the Spartans’ success on the court.

This season, Hall has some really good numbers. He’s averaging 10 points, five rebounds, and one assist. To go along with that, Hall is shooting an astounding 61 percent from the field and 56 percent from deep, making him second on the team in field goal percentage behind Julius Marble and first on the team in 3-point percentage.

Hall has been playing really good basketball as of late, leaving a lot of fans wondering why isn’t in the starting lineup if he is having such good production?

The only person who can answer this question is Tom Izzo, but even though Hall isn’t in the starting lineup, he’s still getting a lot of action. Hall is averaging 22 minutes per game on the year which is the same as starting power forward in Joey Hauser. So it’s just a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Since Hall is still having the same amount of minutes, no need to move him to the starting role and maybe mess with his game too much and have him go back to struggling. So although he is technically coming off the bench, he’s getting starter minutes.

Other strengths Hall brings to Michigan State basketball

Besides, of course, the actual basketball playing the part of Malik’s repertoire, he brings a lot more to the table. Hall being a junior is able to help incoming freshmen like Jaden Akins and Chrisite succeed and play at their highest level, along with probably helping them get used to Izzo’s style of coaching.

Hall also brings a lot of emotion to the game when he is on the court. When the Spartans are at the Breslin Center, he’s great at getting the Izzone and all the fans in attendance excited, making them a factor in the game. On the road, he’s great at hyping up his team and getting them into it. A great example would be the Spartans’ latest game against Wisconsin in Madison. Hall was getting into it whenever he made a good shot as he would get hyped up and when the crowd started booing the Spartans — he went to half court and gestured them to get louder.

These play big factors for a team like the Spartans because you need emotion and energy. After all, it’s contagious and the people around you thrive off of that. The Spartans have a few guys like that but Hall is one of the best at providing the energy.

As the season continues, it will be a fun ride to see what Hall does and to see if he can continue his great season and make Michigan State basketball enjoyable; hopefully he starts getting more recognition from all the fans.