As a true freshman, Jordan Scott wasn’t expected to be much more than an end-of-rotation player, but Tom Izzo teased before the season that the incoming wing was much better than he had expected. He said the same for Cam Ward, but the statement had Michigan State fans rethinking their expectations for Scott.
It was apparently early on that Scott was going to have a big role with the team. He played 18 minutes in the season opener and then followed that up with a 26-minutes outing against Arkansas.
While Scott wasn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, he was a defensive stopper and one of the more impressive all-around players on the roster. He didn’t put up crazy numbers, but he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
Scott was grabbing rebounds, stealing the ball with his quick hands on defense, swatting shots, and he would hit the occasional three to ignite the offense in times of need.
Michigan State didn’t have a ton of 3-point shooters, but the growth of Scott was huge because even though he started his career 1-for-13 from three, he bounced back to shoot 37 percent from three. He also wasn’t afraid to shoot the ball and that confidence was impressive from a true freshman.
Eventually, Scott took over the starting shooting guard role and broke out for a handful of games before hitting a bit of a freshman wall. He had six straight games of double-digit scoring and then he kind of dropped off on that end of the floor to end the season, never scoring 10-plus again. Scott did, however, lock down Keaton Wagler of Illinois which may have been his best game of the year.
His role is going to be huge for Michigan State as a sophomore.
What will Jordan Scott’s role be in 2026-27?
Scott averaged 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 stocks (steals + blocks) in 20.8 minutes per game which was good for a true freshman who wasn’t supposed to crack the starting lineup and did it at a position that he wasn’t exactly a natural at.
The small forward played most of the year at shooting guard but I do believe that he’ll slide more into that three role in 2026-27. He could start at the two and then move to the three when Coen Carr exits the game, making way for Kur Teng or Jasiah Jervis to come in and assume the shooting guard role. He’ll still play over 20 minutes per game between the two positions.
The Virginia native averaged about 21 minutes per game as a freshman, but he’ll see that increase slightly to 22-23 and he’ll see his scoring increase by 2-3 points per game as well.
I can see Scott shooting around 38-40 percent from three and averaging 8.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and around 2.0 stocks per game between the small forward and shooting guard spots.
He is my current favorite to win the starting shooting guard spot over Jervis even though I see him more as a small forward. But hey, a wing is a wing.
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