Less than 24 hours after Jeremy Fears Jr. bragged about being one of just a handful of teams to lose anyone to the transfer portal, sophomore guard Divine Ugochukwu became a late entry to the market.
The news came early on Wednesday after rumors of a surprise Michigan State portal entrant late on Tuesday night by Trilly Donovan, a connected college hoops source on Twitter.
There was clearly fire behind the smoke as Ugochukwu decided to take his talents to the portal for his second straight offseason, and it clearly caught his teammates off guard.
Ugochukwu's decision even caused Fears to react on Instagram with an apparent shot at the "bad people" in his circle. Sure, the Instagram post may not have been about Ugochukwu, but the timing makes sense, especially with rumors circulating that Divine's agent was the driving force behind the decision.
Jeremy Fears Jr. on Instagram:
— Michigan State Country (@CountryMichSt) April 22, 2026
*in reference to recent MSU basketball news* pic.twitter.com/5y0OsPdIxj
When the team captain speaks out on the topic and he's disappointed in the decision, you know it's a bad one. Fears was excited to have all of his guys back but apparently Ugochukwu's agent may have found him a better offer or two from teams who were willing to pay for decent combo guard play.
Having "bad people in your circle" can definitely lead to huge mistakes.
Just ask the last combo guard who decided to transfer away from Izzo for a promised larger role.
Michigan State's backcourt loses a ballhandler
One of the toughest needs to address is a player who can play both the one or the two and who's content with either as long as it helps out the team.
Ugochukwu transitioned more to a shooting guard for Michigan State, but he was the primary backup to Fears at the point. Losing a guy who could handle the ball and didn't fold under the pressure of late-game situations is tough, but that just goes to show you how valuable an Ugochukwu is on the open market.
Down a ballhandler, Michigan State will turn to Carlos Medlock Jr. to now handle primary backup point guard duties with Jasiah Jervis sprinkled in during emergency situations.
Losing someone who can play point definitely hurts.
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