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Michigan State coach Tom Izzo encouraged by Malik Hall's progress since returning to practice court

On3 imageby:Paul Konyndyk•09/25/23•

PKonyndyk

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With foot injury behind him, can Malik Hall fill a much-needed role at the four? (Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK).

East Lansing, Mich. – Malik Hall has been participating in team activities since early August, and Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo is pleased with the progress his versatile veteran has made since returning to the court from off-season foot surgery.

Hall, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior, is still knocking off rust and regaining his skills after a lengthy lay-off. Be that as it may, the veteran forward is making his presence felt, splitting time at the four with freshman Xavier Booker, a McDonald’s All-American.

“Getting Malik Hall back has really helped,” said Izzo on Monday afternoon before practice. “He still is not maybe 100 percent back as far as skill level and that, but he is 100 percent back as far as health. He hasn’t been a 100 percent probably since his sophomore year. That’s very encouraging with Malik.”

Hall missed a total of 11 games after a stress reaction was discovered following a non-conference win over Villanova. Hall was sidelined for eight games after that home win over Villanova on Nov. 18. He missed three additional games during Big Ten play in January after reaggravating the foot injury.  He underwent minor surgery on his left foot in April.

Hall averaged 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds while playing 26 minutes per game. Hall, who began his Spartan career at the four, split time between the three and the four prior to being sidelined with the stress reaction. With Tyson Walker, AJ Hoggard, and Jaden Akins all back this season, look for Hall to play most of his minutes at the four.

With Joey Hauser having graduated, Michigan State has a need for a reliable floor-stretching presence at the four. Hall has shown that he has the perquisite skillset to help offset the loss of Hauser. It will, however, be difficult to replace the perimeter shooting of Hauser, who made 68 threes during his final season and shot 45 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Hall, by contrast, has made just 58 threes to this point in his Michigan State career. Last season, Hall made 14 threes while shooting just over 30 percent from behind the 3-point line. For his career, Hall is a 36 percent shooter from behind the 3-point line, which is a productive rate, but he needs to regain the range-shooting form he flashed early in his career.

When he wasn’t on the practice court this summer, Hall made himself available as a resource for younger players like Booker and the program’s three other freshmen.

“The biggest plus with having a deeper team is that I’ve got enough veterans and they’ve done an incredible job of working with the four freshmen,” Izzo said. “You know my theory, a player-coached team is always better than a coach-coached team. Those players have done one helluva job acclimating, relationships. In this transactional BS world that we live in, we still have a relationship-based program that we’re going to have for as long as I’m standing in front of you.”  

PK’S TAKEAWAY: Michigan State needs Hall’s leadership, and the Spartans also need his versatility on both ends of the floor. If Hall can be a reliable contributor at the four, Michigan State will be in better position to compete for championships this season.

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