It’s been somewhat of a rough season for Denham Wojcik in the green and white, but he’s remained positive and so has Tom Izzo.
Wojcik hasn’t been as bad as some fans make him seem, but he’s had some decificencies on the defensive end that have led to some quick opposing runs when Jeremy Fears Jr. isn’t on the floor. He’s been one of the biggest defensive liabilities on the team which has led to a lot of the criticism that he gets when he’s on the floor for 1-2 minutes at a time.
Although Wojcik struggles a bit defensively, getting beat off the dribble a lot and fouling when he feels like he’s about to get beat, he is more than capable of running the offense.
No, Wojcik isn’t going to get you 10 points off the bench — although he did score four against North Dakota State — but he’s going to find the open man and make sure the ball is constantly moving. He’s no Fears, but he does just enough to make sure that there’s not a massive drop-off when he’s on the floor. There’s still a noticeable drop-off, but it’s much more massive on the defensive end.
After Wojcik had a pretty solid game against North Dakota State, Izzo felt the need to come to his backup point guard’s defense once again.
Tom Izzo: "Denham Wojcik didn't come here because of his dad. I have been so impressed with what he's done. Going to Harvard, graduating from Harvard, coming here, battling through so many injuries. The kid has great heart, he is as good of a defender as we got on the team."
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) March 20, 2026
I’m not saying the defense of Wojcik isn’t warranted, especially after he played well in Michigan State’s NCAA Tournament win, but Izzo doesn’t have to tell us not to believe our eyes with him on the defensive end. Saying that he’s as good of a defender as he has on the team is almost disrespectful to guys like Fears and Carson Cooper.
Still, I do appreciate the fact that Izzo will defend his guys no matter what, especially when he feels like they’re getting way more heat than they deserve.
Denham Wojcik is going to be important down the stretch
It’s the most important time of the season and every single possession from now until the end of the year is going to be important. That means that Wojcik has to be on his game when his number is called.
In round one, he did his job — and then some. He came in, played well enough on both ends to not require a timeout by Izzo to buy more time for Fears to get rest, and even scored four points. He doesn’t necessarily need to score, but if he’s not a net negative off the bench from here on out, that’s a huge win for the Spartans.
Wojcik is going to be called upon in some high-stress spots over the next three weeks, so we’ll see if he’s ready to answer the call.