Michigan State's A.J. Hoggard withdraws from NBA Draft, will return to school
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State point guard A.J. Hoggard announced on Wednesday that he will withdraw his name from the NBA Draft and return to East Lansing for his senior season. The announcement came shortly after Hoggard’s teammate Jaden Akins made his return to Michigan State official.
Michigan State basketball tweeted a picture of the two on Wednesday with the caption, “Ready to get back to work.”
Hoggard didn’t make his NBA Draft declaration public until April 25, one day after the list of early entries was released. Hoggard maintained two seasons of collegiate eligibility while going through the NBA Draft process.
Akins and Hoggard had until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday to make their decisions.
RELATED: Jaden Akins withdraws from NBA Draft, will return to school
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo hinted at the possibility of a few Spartan players declaring for the NBA Draft following the 2022-23 season to receive feedback from professional scouts. Hoggard and Akins were the only two players to do so.
Like Akins, Hoggard was not invited to the NBA Combine or G-League Elite Camp.
A former four-star recruit from Coatesville, Pa., Hoggard enjoyed a strong finish to the 2022-23 season. Hoggard played one of his best games of the season in the Spartans’ Sweet 16 loss to Kansas State, recording 25 points, six assists, two rebounds and two blocks on 50 percent shooting (1-of-2 from three).
Hoggard averaged a career-best 12.9 points, 5.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds on 41.7 shooting (32.9 percent from three) as a junior in 2022-23. He started all but one game at point guard for Michigan State.
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Hoggard is projected to maintain his starting spot next season while serving an important role as a senior leader and playmaker. At 6-foot-4, 210-pounds, he is one of the bigger lead guards in the Big Ten Conference and has good court awareness and passing ability.
Hoggard’s minutes per game spiked from 20.2 as a sophomore to 30.6 last season as a junior. Hoggard averaged seven points, 4.8 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore on 43.9 percent shooting (21.9 percent from three) in 2021-22.
As a freshman in 2020-21, Hoggard averaged 2.5 points, two assists and 1.9 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game. He shot 30.7 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three.
With Hoggard and Akins both coming back, Michigan State will return all but Joey Hauser and Pierre Brooks from last season’s playing group. The Spartans will also add the No. 6 high school recruiting class to next year’s roster, per the On3 Industry Rankings.
Michigan State is ranked No. 4 in ESPN’s most recent Way-Too-Early Top 25 Poll.
