Three Michigan State basketball players were given All-Big Ten honors as Malik Hall and AJ Hoggard were both named honorable mentions.
Earlier on Tuesday, the All-Big Ten teams were revealed and only one Michigan State basketball player was selected but two received honorable mentions.
With MSU being a bubble team heading into the Big Ten Tournament, it isn’t surprising the Spartans haven’t played their way on to the All-Big Ten teams. Senior guard Tyson Walker was the lone player selected and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors.
Following the release, it was announced that seniors Malik Hall and AJ Hoggard both received honorable mentions for their play this season.
This has fans a little confused.
Yes, overall the team has failed to meet expectations but I think a lot of fans are confused on how these two players could be viewed on the same plane given their performance this year. It isn’t that neither player deserves All-Big Ten honors, but rather how senior Malik Hall could be snubbed for third-team given his performance during conference play.
Hall started the season slow but turned up the heat once conference play got underway. It can be argued that he’s been Michigan State’s most valuable player over the last couple of months and is probably why the team still has a chance to make the NCAA Tournament.
Third-team All-Big Ten had nine players selected and many fans feel Hall was worthy of a spot.
Hall himself is obviously taking note.
What’s more, is that these two players are being acknowledged for having similar performances throughout the season.
Look, both players played solid in a very difficult conference. Now did both live up to expectations? One could hold their own opinion on that. That said, I think most are in agreement that these two did not have the same season.
It’s unfortunate for Hall to be snubbed but at the end of the day, this was the No. 4 ranked team in the country coming into this year with national title aspirations. We shouldn’t be spending much time on these individual awards. We should be focused on salvaging what’s left of the season.
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