Evaluating Denham Wojcik's Spot in MSU's Main Rotation
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Michigan State is still figuring out what its main rotation is going to look like 11 games into the season.
The most recent major change was the decision to start Divine Ugochukwu at shooting guard against Penn State, or the "two." That decision meant that MSU was going to need another backup point guard, which allowed Harvard transfer Denham Wojcik, son of assistant coach Doug Wojcik, to step up and receive some more meaningful minutes.
Wojcik hadn't just been riding the bench until this point, but most of his live reps had either come at the end of lopsided results or at the end of first halves.
That has changed now, as Wojcik has now gotten shifts earlier on in both the first and second half, when the playing time is a little more meaningful.
Tom Izzo seems to want Wojcik to truly earn his spot in the Spartans' main rotation. That makes sense, because that is what will become necessary if Ugochukwu ends up being Michigan State's permanent and final answer at the two-guard.
Wojcik played a season-high 13 minutes during MSU's 92-69 victory over Toledo. He ended up dishing out six assists to just one turnover, with the Spartans outscoring the Rockets by 10 while he was on the court.
Izzo on Wojcik
The decision to play Wojcik does not necessarily seem like the most popular decision Izzo and the coaching staff have made, given what pops up when one searches "Denham Wojcik" on Twitter/X.
Following the game against Toledo, Spartan Nation asked Izzo about how he'd evaluate Wojcik's performance through two games as a real member of the team's group of players who see in real time on the court.
"Denham deserves some [playing time], because he's Doug's kid," Izzo said. "We just want some stability there. The one thing is, our three guards... they're not very vocal people. Jeremy [Fears Jr.] is, but the other three guys [Wojcik, Kur Teng, and Trey Fort] aren't very vocal at all. It's hard to be a quarterback if you go into a huddle and you can't call a play.
"That's when we decided that we're gonna play him [Ugochukwu] more at the two to take some of that pressure off him, and if we've got a guy that comes in, that's good. And so Denham comes in and runs the show a little bit."
The question is whether Ugochukwu is enough of an upgrade at the two over Teng or Fort, where it's worth giving Wojcik those minutes in truly competitive games. Wojcik's box plus/minus is negative-3.4 on CBB Reference and is negative-5.2 on Torvik, both of which are the lowest marks among MSU's rotation.
Much of the issue lies in the fact that teams do not have to respect Wojcik's offensive game as they do with Fears or Ugochukwu. Both of them have proven that they can go off and get a bucket in any given moment or game, which hasn't been seen from Wojcik. His defensive rating is 101.8, according to CBB Reference, which is also the worst number on Michigan State's playing group (higher numbers are worse).
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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