Tom Izzo is a big fan of what AJ Hoggard has done throughout his Michigan State basketball career. What’d he say?
AJ Hoggard at times has had an up and down career at Michigan State. He has been a really good player throughout his career, but sometimes he goes on stretches where he is extremely ineffective. However, Hoggard has never quit. Even if fans think it looks like he has, he has never given up.
Tom Izzo spoke on this recently and how much credit AJ deserves for persevering throughout his career.
Izzo coaching AJ hard
I think it’s a well known fact that Izzo coaches his players extremely hard. Sometimes to the point where he gets backlash in the media, but all of his former players will tell you that he did it out of love and respect for his players. Hoggard has experienced this during his career many times.
I can think of countless times when Izzo has been grilling Hoggard in the middle of a game. It probably happens even more in practice. Hoggard has even been benched more than once for not playing well. But he never gave up. He kept pushing no matter what Izzo asked of him.
When speaking on this, Izzo said that, “I’m here to tell you that AJ has done everything that I’ve asked him to do, just about. I mean that. He deserves a lot of credit for it. He withstood all those storms.”
That last sentence sums up the person AJ is perfectly. He never quit, even throughout all the social media backlash, rough games and Izzo getting upset with him. He kept pushing and withstood everything thrown his way. That’s exactly what you want to see from your senior guard and leader.
Hoggard could have left
In today’s day and age, guys are leaving left and right to play at different schools. And when I think about it, it wouldn’t have been crazy for AJ to do so. The Spartans have had a couple rough years on the court as a team, and Hoggard has received backlash online from fans and he definitely has the talent to play at any school in the country. But he chose to stay and be a part of something special here in East Lansing.
Izzo also spoke on this fact as well saying, “And you know what, that says a lot about AJ.”
Players leave programs for many reasons and Hoggard definitely had more than a few. But he stuck around. His patience has been worth it because he has been playing some high-level basketball recently. MSU has won five of their last six games, and in those games he has hit double figures each time. He also is averaging 6.3 assists per game which is the best stretch of his career.
AJ Hoggard is one of the leaders of this team. Not only because he is one of our better players, but also because he has made it through all the challenges in his career. He deserves more credit from this fanbase because he has had an excellent career especially considering everything that’s been thrown his way. I can only imagine how much MSU will miss him once his time in East Lansing is done.
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