Why Izzo Not Anticipating More Backcourt Changes for MSU
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- The rotation, especially this late in the season, is probably mostly set for Michigan State.
Things often tighten up in the NCAA Tournament, but the 15th-ranked Spartans have a few weeks before its first round game arrives. Most of the ire around MSU's rotation is on the backcourt, due to the lack of depth at point guard after Divine Ugochukwu's season-ending foot injury.
Breaking Down the PG Situation
Jeremy Fears Jr. cannot play 40 minutes every game. Maybe he will do so if and when MSU faces real adversity in March, but that's a later issue. When he's off the floor, it's going to be Denham Wojcik coming into the game to run the show for a couple of minutes.
People have wondered, though, after Jordan Scott briefly played the one against UCLA on Tuesday due to Wojcik being unavailable with a shoulder issue, if that would be a recurring thing. Tom Izzo doesn't seem to think so.
“If everybody gets hurt, I might need Nick [Sanders] to do it [run point guard], too,” Izzo said after practice Friday. “It’s not in my game plan right now. Down the road? You never know, in the years to come, or whatever."
Basically, Scott was playing point guard because Fears needed a breather and Wojcik was unavailable, and there is not much of a reason to look into it beyond the fact that Scott is the third option for Michigan State at the one now.
Asking Scott, who began his freshman season as a three-man, to learn the two isn't a super big leap. Making him learn the one is a different story because of the great additional responsibilities that come with being the primary ball-handler.
Personally, I think Scott could handle it, but it's also understandable why Izzo would give pause to the idea. There is still a real learning curve, and asking someone with very limited experience playing point guard to run the show, especially a freshman, during the biggest games of the season is just asking a lot.
Scott is generally sitting at 25+ minutes per game now; making him go into the 30s consistently can easily cause some fatigue and some over-extension. The whole point of putting Wojcik in, after all, is to bring in some fresher legs while Fears takes a breather. Subbing out one tired player for another tired player is probably not what Izzo wants to do.
"We’re playing him [Scott] a lot of minutes now for what he has to do, and I’ve just got to keep that rotation, and I think we’ve got a pretty good one," Izzo said.
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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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