Sunday was a big day for Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball as it looks like they've finalized their roster for the 2025-26 season. The Spartans landed Miami transfer Divine Ugochukwu to back up Jeremy Fears Jr. and act as the team's second ball-handler.
The addition was underwhelming for some who were hoping Izzo would go out and land a future superstar, but Ugochukwu had a decent freshman season with Miami and has three years to grow and learn in the Izzo system. Getting Ugochukwu for three years might actually turn into a sneaky great move just because he's only going to improve.
At Miami, he struggled with his jumper, hitting just 17 percent from deep but he did make around 48 percent from the floor which means he shot over 50 percent from inside the arc.
Oh, and he averaged 1.0 steals per game which means he was active on that end of the floor, too, and he turned a lot of turnovers into easy buckets.
Just watch the highlight reel attached to the tweet below.
As you can see, he's active on the defensive end and he's not afraid to put the ball on the floor and drive the lane. He can either pick up some contact and capitalize by getting to the line or he finishes strong at the rim -- or both. He can be a quality offensive threat if he continues to grow this part of his game which showed flashes this past season.
So what will his exact role be at Michigan State?
It's pretty clear that he's going to be Fears' backup and he'll be on the floor when Jeremy isn't, for the most part. It'll probably be rare that Izzo runs both of them out at the same time, but if he does, it'll likely be for defense. He's likely going to be a 10-15 minute-per-game backup who comes in, gives Fears a break, and then also spells other guards in foul trouble.
Don't expect a ton of production from Ugochukwu in 2025-26 but he should play a decent role as a backup and if he exceeds expectations, he could be a Tre Holloman-type.
The shooting could use some work, but as long as he's defending at a high level and getting to the rim and facilitating on offense, he's going to have a positive impact. Michigan State already added plus shooting in the form of Trey Fort and Kaleb Glenn and Kur Teng should also provide more of a threat on the perimeter. Ugochukwu is there for other reasons.