Tom Izzo: Consistency will take MSU's AJ Hoggard "from good to great"
During a career night at Penn State, A.J. Hoggard looked like the player that Tom Izzo and Michigan State men’s basketball always hoped their junior point guard could be.
Hoggard led the Spartans to a 68-57 victory over the Nittany Lions on Wednesday night with a career-high 23 points. The junior also showed his prowess as an on-ball defender, holding Penn State point guard Jalen Pickett to 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
Reflecting on his point guard’s game a day later, Izzo wasn’t ready to deem Hoggard a finished product as a player, but the head coach acknowledged the improvements that his point guard has shown so far in the 2022-23 season.
“AJ is still a work in progress. He’s doing a lot better, he’s done a lot better from last year and the year before – just look at the free throw shooting,” Izzo said.
After shooting in the low-60s percentage-wise from the free throw line during his first two collegiate seasons, Hoggard has converted on 87.5 percent of his free throws so far this year. Izzo said his point guard put in a lot of work at the charity stripe over the summer, and seeing Hoggard reap the benefits of that work has helped with his confidence and drive for continued improvement in other areas of his game.
“I think it’s really helped that his free throw shooting is improved because I think he saw what he did all summer and know he’s at 87-88 percent. He’s winning games for us,” Izzo said. “I’m really happy for him – when you see somebody buy in to something and it goes right. Now, the next chore is can it consistently be that way.”
‘Consistency’ was the word of the day for Izzo in reference to Hoggard. Michigan State has seen flashes of brilliance from its point guard before, but Hoggard also has a tendency to get loose with the basketball or take bad shots – both of which have been costly to the Spartans at times throughout the point guard’s career.
“He’s got some great skills. He’s just got to get through the lackadaisical part of things,” Izzo said.
Through 10 games this season, Hoggard is averaging a career-high in points (12.7), rebounds (4.3), assists (5.9) and steals (1.1) per game. A full-time starter now, Hoggard’s minutes have increased to 30.9 per game – up from 20.2 and 13.2 minutes per games as a sophomore and freshman, respectively.
As Izzo mentioned, shot selection is an area in which the point guard needs to improve – Hoggard is shooting just 38.9 percent from the floor. The junior has improved his three point shooting to 29.6 precent – up from 21.9 precent last season – but he can settle for threes too often at times.
These are things that Izzo and his staff have been drilling into the point guard for three years now, and the head coach believes those constant reminders are starting to click for Hoggard.
“AJ’s stubborn, you know, and I tell him that all the time. But, he’s starting to figure out that I do want what’s best for him. My staff wants what’s best for him,” Izzo said.
“My next chore is consistency on the break, consistency off the ball defensively, continue to work on taking good shots – once in a while they’re not as good – and then I want to get him into film watching. Because, the film doesn’t lie, and that’s an area that he’s taking a little time on.”
Izzo mentioned former players like Mateen Cleaves, Denzel Valentine and Tum Tum Nairn, who were self-motivated to watch film because they had a competitive drive to get better. He’d like Hoggard to adopt that kind of mindset as his career continues.
“He’s got so much more to give,” Izzo said. “He’s really good defensively – he showed some of that last night – but off the ball he’s got to get better. He’s really good on the break, but he’s got to be consistent with it. If he gets consistent, he’ll go from good to great. That’s the push.”
Committing to watching film on his own and being prepared prior to film sessions with coaches could be the next step in the maturation process for Hoggard. With that being said, the point guard has already matured in other areas.
Hoggard has always been an emotional leader for MSU – he’s vocal, he’s demonstrative, he wears his emotions on his sleeve. When things are going well for Michigan State, that natural energy that Hoggard provides can boost the Spartans to new heights. But, in times of adversity during his first two seasons in East Lansing, Hoggard’s frustration was on full display for all to see.
“Remember last year, it was always somebody else’s fault,” Izzo said with a smile. “That’s what our world is about right now. You have to be able to complain and then blame. I think he’s gotten a lot better on that. You don’t see that in him as much as you used to.”
Izzo always expects leadership from his point guards. They are the on-court coaches for Michigan State men’s basketball. They are the team’s quarterback.
This season, Hoggard is still vocal and demonstrative. He still provides teammates with tough love – we saw him angrily get after true freshman Jaxon Kohler for a missed assignment against Penn State – but he’s also been better at taking personal responsibility.
“It’s really fun when you see somebody do some of the things that you work with them on or talk to them about and they have success,” Izzo said. “There’s no better learning lesson than that.”
