CLEVELAND, Ohio– Michigan State has been praised for its depth all season long, and in the NCAA Tournament, that depth can be a real weapon. One of the mainstay players this season has been senior guard Jaden Akins, who has put a ton of work in to make himself effective in more ways than one.
While Michigan State hasn’t been a top 3-point shooting team all season, the Spartans have seen some more deep shots drop lately. Akins, in particular, has found his shot and showed it off in the Spartans’ first-round game against 15-seeded Bryant.
In his press conference on Saturday afternoon, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo praised Akins and the hard work he has put in to impact the game when the shots weren’t falling.
“You know, Jaden Akins is — I’ve said it to our media a million times, he’s a 37 or so, maybe even higher, 3-point shooter over his career,” Izzo said.
“He struggled for some reason. If you were with us on a daily basis — it frustrates me because I know how good we’d be if he was hitting — he hit some great shots last night.”
“What I’ve really appreciated about him, No. 1, is he works on it morning, noon and night; and No. 2, it means something to him morning, noon and night; and No. 3, he said, ‘I’ve got to do more to impact the game.’ He made the all-defensive team. That’s not where he was. You’ve got to give him a lot, a lot, a lot of credit for that because he gets frustrated, too. Never gets down.”
Izzo has never lost faith in the senior guard and is still hopeful that Akins can be the spark the Spartans need to continue to advance in this tournament.
“The day is going to come,” Izzo said. “I’ve been saying it, and has come a few times, and if we get him consistent with the other guys, I think our good team turns into a great team. Whether that can happen, we’re going to soon find out.”
Akins and the Spartans will have a great opportunity on Sunday night as they’ll take on the Richard Pitino-led New Mexico Lobos, the 10-seed who defeated 7-seeded Marquette in Round 1.
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