Chris Jans Adds Much-Needed Guard Depth Through the Portal
Last season under Ben Howland, depth at the guard spot was a bit of a concern with an injured Rocket Watts and true freshman Cam Carter being the main two off the bench.
Chris Jans, MSU's newest head coach, has evidently been hard at work solving this problem through the transfer portal.
Former Oregon State guard Deshawn Davis announced his commitment to MSU via Twitter on Sunday afternoon. He brings an impressive arsenal and resume' with him, including the title of the PAC-12's leader in assists this past season.
At 6-foot-3 and 180 lbs., Davis measures out as slightly above average size for the one spot. A 3-star recruit coming out of high school, Davis impressed in his tenure with the Beavers. Now, however, he'll make the jump to the SEC.
Along with his 5.5 assists per game, Davis poured in 10.9 points and 3.1 boards per contest this past season on a rather efficient 45.7% shooting. Davis has struggled with ball security, however, averaging 2.4 turnovers per game.
His defense is a huge plus, though, and he's got incredibly active hands. Those hands earned him 1.4 steals per game during the 2021-22 season, and is undoubtedly a huge reason that the defensive-minded Jans was interested in the upperclassman.
If Iverson Molinar returns to the team next season, it will be interesting to see what kind of role Davis plays in the offense. If Molinar hits the portal or heads to the league, however, Davis should be able to offer a solid option to run the offense from the one slot, and is sizable enough to play the two.
Jans made a living in the transfer and juco portals at New Mexico State, and going forward will undoubtedly look to keep those connections alive at MSU.
