Michigan State basketball: AJ Hoggard declares for NBA draft

Originally posted on Spartan Shadows
By Connor Muldowney | Last updated 4/14/24

After weeks of speculation, Michigan State basketball senior AJ Hoggard has declared for the NBA draft while maintaining eligibility.

One Michigan State basketball senior with eligibility remaining already made a decision to enter the transfer portal last week but fans were still waiting on an announcement from the other. And they (sort of) got that on Saturday.

Mady Sissoko hit the portal last week while AJ Hoggard’s status with the team was still up in the air.

According to Kyle Austin of MLive, it appears that a decision has been made as he hasn’t officially announced anything, but he’s participating in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament along with Tyson Walker. This is an opportunity for potential NBA hopefuls to make an impression on scouts in the draft process. Committing to this game likely indicates that Hoggard is moving on.

A.J. Hoggard hasn’t officially announced his plans for next year but this would indicate he’s moving on to pro hoops https://t.co/LORBLvt0Z8

— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) April 13, 2024

Austin later reported that Hoggard would be declaring for the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.

This is the decision we were all kind of expecting and it also wouldn’t be that shocking to see Hoggard toy with the idea of returning to Michigan State or even entering the transfer portal. He does have a year of eligibility left so he could utilize that to improve on his draft stock after a disappointing senior season. Will that be with Michigan State basketball? That’s tough to say.

Hoggard entered the season as one of the top point guards in the Big Ten. He was racking up preseason bulletin board material from those who didn’t think he was worthy of All-Big Ten or other prestigious award recognitions. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite back that up, averaging 10.7 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game, and didn’t improve his shooting touch from mid-range or deep. Everyone was expecting a major jump from Hoggard after a strong finish in the Sweet 16 the year prior, but it didn’t quite happen.

Could he come back for a redemption-type season a la Malik Hall or Joey Hauser? Sure, but I’m not positive that fans are willing to take the risk.

This article first appeared on Spartan Shadows and was syndicated with permission.

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