Michigan State basketball: Projected starting 5 with Tyson Walker returning

Mar 19, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Tyson Walker (2) and guard A.J. Hoggard (11) celebrate their 69-60 win over the Marquette Golden Eagles during the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus DispatchBasketball Ncaa Men S Basketball Tournament Round 2 /

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Michigan State Spartans guard Tyson Walker celebrates the 72-62 NCAA tournament win against the USC Trojans, Friday, March 17, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio.Msuusc 031623 Kd5403 /

Here we are at the topic of everyone’s discussion today: Tyson Walker.

The senior guard decided to return for one final season on Monday, announcing via Instagram and Twitter that he’d be returning in 2023-24. That news was met with plenty of excitement because everyone saw what he was capable of this past season and it just feels like he’s on the verge of becoming a legend in the green and white.

Walker will surpass the 1,000-point mark as a Spartan this season, especially if he improves that points per game category like I expect he will.

Michigan State’s offense will be electric with him back and if he can shoot 10-15 shots per game, the Spartans will be in great shape. That’s the kind of volume that Michigan State will need from him if it expects to compete for the Big Ten and national titles.

We saw his confidence take over this season and he went from 8.2 points on 43 percent shooting last year to 14.8 points on 56 percent shooting this year. He did shoot 47 percent from deep last season compared to 42 percent this year, but his attempts doubled and anything over 40 percent has to be considered elite.

Walker is back to man the wing and take some ball-handling duties from AJ Hoggard.

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