Michigan State coach Tom Izzo says Hoggard can go from good to great, but is a work in progress

On3 imageby:Jim Comparoni12/09/22

JimComparoni

East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was as happy as anyone for A.J. Hoggard’s career-high performance before family and friends at Penn State on Wednesday. But by Thursday, Izzo was pumping the brakes on the afterglow.

“A.J. is still a work in progress,” Izzo said. “He is doing a lot better. He’s better than last year and the year before.”

And he’s better than he was last week. Uneven performances, perhaps due to uneven focus, led to Izzo putting Hoggard on the bench for the start of Sunday’s game against Northwestern.

Now, Hoggard has put together two consecutive strong outings, including Wednesday’s 23-point showing at Penn State. Hoggard’s clutch performance was key in helping the underdog Spartans finish the pre-holiday portion of the Big Ten season with a 1-1 record (6-4 overall) – which is so much better than the 0-2, 5-5 alternative that many expected following a tired loss to Northwestern on Sunday. 

“A.J. is starting to figure out that I, too, want what’s best for him,” Izzo said on Thursday after the Spartans finished a film session at the Breslin Center.

The Spartans didn’t practice on Thursday, taking the NCAA-mandated day off for the week. Michigan State will return to the court on Saturday against Brown University at 4:30 p.m. at Breslin Center (BTN). 

Izzo is cautiously optimistic about Hoggard, who has All-Big Ten potential, but tests Izzo’s patience by straying from his lane.

“AJ is stubborn, “Izzo said. “I tell him that all the time. A.J. has some great skills, he just has to get through the lackadaisical part of things. 

“He has so much more to give. He is really good defensively. He showed some of that at Penn State. But off the ball he has to get better. He’s really good on the break but he has to get consistent with it. If he gets consistent, he will go from good to great. That’s the push.”

Hoggard led the nation last year in assist rate (46.1), according to KenPom.com. His ability to drive with size, and see the floor, is uncommon. Izzo is working with Hoggard to rein in those talents.

“My next chore for him is consistency on the break, continue to work on taking good shots,” Izzo said. “Once in awhile they are not as good. And then I want him to get into film watching, because the film doesn’t lie. That’s an area that has taken a little time. 

“He has to get like Cleaves and Valentine and TumTum who grinded and watched film every day. Those guys were really good at it. That way they can see it and you don’t have to explain it to them and you don’t have to get them to believe you because they can see it. I mean we watch film with them but the great ones come in and watch film on their own and know everything that’s going on because they want to get better and that’s the next step that he has to take.”

Hoggard’s leadership skills are also a work in progress. 

Last year, Izzo said Hoggard needed to do less blaming of his teammates and take some blame of his own, even when something isn’t his fault. Apparently that’s what the great point guards do. 

“Remember last year it was always somebody else’s fault,” Izzo said. “That’s what our world is about right now. You have to be able to complain and then blame. I think he has gotten a lot better on that. You don’t see that in him as much as you used to.”

But it still happens. During the victory over Penn State on Wednesday, Hoggard jumped into Jaxon Kohler’s grill about an error in ball screen defense. That wasn’t necessarily a step in the right direction. Izzo likes for key players to confront and demand of their teammates, but Hoggard needs to find a happy median on that stuff.

Izzo has had teams with too many players who were, as the coach says, afraid to hear their own voices. Hoggard isn’t in that category. He’ll sound off, but not always in the most constructive way.

“That was one of the things on why I wanted him to sit and watch for awhile,” Izzo said. “The leadership part of it, whether you are (a leader) or not, you have to be (a leader) if you’re the quarterback. It goes with the territory. I thought he had the voice to do it, but he just wasn’t doing it.”

Now he’s doing the leadership part … a little better. Combine that with continued improvement elsewhere and he might become the type of championship quarterback Izzo needs him to be. 

“I think he is learning to trust us a little bit,” Izzo said. “I’m really happy to see somebody buy into something and it goes right. Now the next chore is can it consistently be that way?”

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