During the early part of the 2025-26 Michigan State basketball season, one of the more interesting storylines to follow has been the backup point guard spot.
A year ago, the Spartans had several options to run point when Jeremy Fears Jr. needed a breather like Jase Richardson, Tre Holloman, or even Jaden Akins in a pinch. This season, Divine Ugochukwu would have to claim that role and he’d only have Dunham Wojcik to battle for minutes with.
Ugochukwu was no stranger to a high-pressure role, as he had to take over as the starting point guard of Miami as a true freshman last year, and he averaged 5.3 points, 2.3 assists, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in just over 20 minutes per game. He looked like a solid young point guard who had a bright future, but the uncertainty at Miami pushed him into the transfer portal.
Instead of choosing a program where he could start and be a 25-minute per night player, Ugochukwu decided to commit to Michigan State and back up star point guard Jeremy Fears Jr.
This showed that he was willing to learn at a big-time program behind a big-time point guard.
Through four games, it felt like Ugochukwu was going to really struggle in the backup role to Fears, scoring just five points with four assists while averaging about 10 minutes per game. Over the last two games, Ugochukwu is averaging 11 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 8-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-8 from deep. He’s finally looking like a legit contributor — not just a serviceable point guard like we kind of all expected when he committed.
The offense no longer looks disjointed when he’s on the floor running the point, and he had his first true breakout game as a Spartan on Tuesday afternoon, scoring 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench in a 33-point win over East Carolina.
It’s safe to say that he finally is starting to feel comfortable running Tom Izzo’s offense. He’s also not afraid to take some shots, which shows that his confidence, too, is coming around.
If Michigan State can get 15 quality backcourt minutes from Ugochukwu every game, the Spartans’ ceiling rises considerably.