Michigan State was well-represented at the NBA Summer League over the past month from former Spartans to alums to former Spartans and alums who found themselves on a coaching staff.
Joey Hauser and Foster Loyer teamed up as assistant coaches for the Brooklyn Nets who went 3-2 and had the second-best average point differential (9.8) out of all teams.
How did the rest of the former Michigan State players do in this year’s Summer League?
Jase Richardson led the way for Spartans in the Summer League
Jase Richardson had arguably the best Summer League performance of any Spartan and he only played three games. He averaged 18.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game during his second Summer League as a member of the Magic. He looks like he’s about to secure a much larger role with Orlando during his “sophomore” season.
Jaden Akins was probably right up there behind Richardson as one of the top Spartan performers during Summer League play. He missed a couple of games as well, but he scored in double figures in two out of his three games, totaling 34 points in three outings. We’ll see if he plays for the Knicks’ G-League team, the Motor City Cruise, or if he earns a two-way contract from a team.
Carson Cooper played in both the Las Vegas and Salt Lake City Summer Leagues with the Grizzlies, totaling nine games. He averaged 11 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 63.2% from the floor in the Salt Lake portion and his numbers dipped to 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds during the Vegas portion. Overall, he finished with a final line of 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting nearly 58 percent from the floor. Not too bad for a former zero-star recruit.
Jaxon Kohler also played pretty well during his first Summer League with the Utah Jazz, averaging 6.0 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 52.9% from the floor. He was also an overall +32 during the multi-week session and developed a decent rapport with Utah’s top pick, Darryn Peterson.
A name that flew under the radar during Summer League play for Spartan fans was Frankie Fidler and he had an up-and-down couple of weeks. He averaged 9.8 points and 4.0 rebounds but he shot just 29.8% from the floor and a paltry 25 percent from three. Not great shooting-wise, but he was +3 throughout his time with the Blazers.
A couple of former Spartans also got some run
We also got to see a couple of former Spartans who decided to transfer before their senior seasons at Michigan State play for the Raptors and Magic.
Tre Holloman played just one game and five total minutes and scored two points — but it was an exciting two points — with the Orlando Magic and it happened to be one of the two games that Richardson missed. The two former teammates didn’t get to take the court together, but they spent time on the same team over the past month.
AJ Hoggard was representing the Raptors and he averaged 5.8 points, 5.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals but his shooting was an issue again. He shot just 24.2% from the floor and 20 percent from deep which shows that the same problems that he had at Michigan State are persisting.
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