Returning Players: Jeremy Fears Jr., Nick Sanders
Departed Players: Tre Holloman
Transfers In: Divine Ugochukwu, Denham Wojcik
Recruits In: None
Here we go, TOC Nation. It is time to change the vibe around here. Michigan State is a basketball (and hockey) school, and now we really get to shift gears and start focusing on a program that brings much more happiness to our lives that our football team. Don’t worry, we will still have plenty of coverage ahead of this weekend’s rivalry game. Michigan State Basketball
will have the first of two exhibition games this Thursday when Bowling Green comes to town, and the regular season opener is just two weeks from today, a home game versus Colgate.
In the next 14 days, TOC will roll out its preview series for the 2025-26 hoops season, analyzing the roster, the coaching staff, and the schedule in order to give our outlook and predictions for the season. And just to prove that we are not disgusting pigs, we will also have a preview of the women’s team, thought that will just be a single article, not a whole series.
Today, we get things started with a look at the point guard rotation. Going into the 2024-25 season, there was one major question regarding this group. How would Jeremy Fears play in his return from the gunshot wound that prematurely ended his freshman season? And as a secondary question, would he be good enough to be the starter and keep Tre Holloman on the bench? That question was answered by Tom Izzo as Fears started the opening game. While he did have some rust from not playing in any games since the previous December, Fears looked the part and never relinquished his starting role, though Holloman eventually did make his way back into the starting lineup for a portion of the season.
This year, there are no such questions. The pecking order is set for the point guards. Jeremy Fears is back as a redshirt sophomore after the NCAA ruled his first season in East Lansing would receive a medical redshirt. Tre Holloman shocked MSU fans when he decided to jump in the portal just days after MSU was eliminated in the NCAA Tournament; he chose to head to NC State for the opportunity to be a starting point guard… only for another player, Quadir Copeland, to later commit to the Wolfpack who is expected to win that role. Sorry, Tre.
Back to East Lansing, the rest of the point guard rotation will consist of new transfer portal arrivals, Divine Ugochukwu from Miami and Denham Wojcik, son of associate head coach Doug Wojcik, from Harvard.
Jeremy Fears Jr. (#1, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’2”, 190 lbs)
Last year, Jeremy showed that the effects of the gunshot wound were behind him. In the opening game against Monmouth, he played 22 minutes in a blowout while accumulating 8 assists, not to mention a block – something that became a not-so-rare feature in his defensive performances. And while he only had three points off two field goal attempts that day, he would prove to be a capable scorer as the season went on. For the year, Fears ended up with averages of 7.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 1.1 steals in 23.7 minutes. He shot 39.7% on FGs and 34.2% on 3s.
In his second year running the point for Tom Izzo, we should expect to see even more out of Fears.
This offseason, Jeremy worked with former NBA player Mike Miller (whose pro career shooting percentages were .459/.407), so hopefully we see a more reliable shot from our PG. In addition, much has been made about Fears’ conditioning, as he has received a full offseason’s worth of collegiate training rather than some of the rehab he was still doing last offseason. Hopefully this leads to improved speed, agility, and vertical jumping ability, which will help get him more steals and blocks and an improved ability to lead the transition offense.
One positive sign from the offseason. Jeremy Fears, along with Carson Cooper, led his team to the annual Moneyball Pro-Am title at Holt High School. Not going to draw too many conclusions from that showcase, but it is not a bad thing. On a personal level, Jeremy also saw his younger brother Jeremiah get drafted 7th overall by the New Orleans Pelicans; perhaps seeing his little bro go pro can add some drive to the elder Fears’ game so that he can follow Jeremiah to the pros in another year or two. Jeremy will be one of four captains on this year’s squad.
Divine Ugochukwu (#99, Sophomore, 6’3”, 190 lbs)
Divine Ugochukwu transferred to Michigan State from Miami this offseason in the aftermath of Hurricanes coach Jim Larrañaga’s midseason retirement. Divine continued to be a part of the Miami program even after the coach who recruited him stepped down, and it ended up working out well for the freshman. Divine became the starting point guard for the Canes after the previous starter went down with an injury with ten games left in the season. In his time as the starter, Ugochukwu averaged 4.5 points and 3.4 assists. While Miami would only record a 3-7 record in those games which Ugo (can I call him that for short?) started, those were the only three conference wins they earned after an 0-10 start in ACC play.
Understandably, the big concern about Divine’s game is his three-point shooting. In his lone year at Miami, he shot 6 for 34 from deep, a concerningly low 17.6%. That is quite the contrast from his 48.3% on all FGs. The 17.6% on 3s would have been worse than 10 Spartan players on last year’s team, so hopefully the MSU coaches are really working with him on that right now.
Where we do not have to worry about him being a liability is on the defensive end. Divine plays with high energy, is a plus-athlete with incredible burst and jumping ability, and his quick feet helps him stay in front of his assignments. So while the MSU offense probably won’t be as potent in the minutes where Divine is giving Jeremy a breather, we should at least feel comfortable that the defensive capabilities should not suffer.
Denham Wojcik (#10, Graduate, 6’2”, 190 lbs)
Okay, so maybe Denham won’t be a major contributor to this year’s team on the floor and will only show up when Izzo is emptying the bench, but he does have a lot to offer this team. Expect the young Wojcik to be a strong addition to the locker room who has a great level of basketball intelligence. This is not just the result of being a coach’s son (and a very respected coach for that matter, according to Tom Izzo), but also from having spent four years at Harvard, where I just have to assume that being around that much cumulative genius would have a positive effect on just about anyone.
Denham sat out last season after having offseason surgery. Prior to that, he was a captain on the Crimson as a junior. That year, he averaged 15.6 minutes per game and had 2.5 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.7 rebounds per game. He started four games that season.
In addition to his intelligence and leadership traits, Denham should be able to mesh well with his new teammates as a result of his previous familiarity with a number of them. Not only is his father on the coaching staff, but he has been a regular at the Moneyball Pro-Am for a few years now. And while his team this past year, SPS (also featuring Kur Teng) finished last in the standings, Denham did have a game where he scored 13 points. Most importantly, it was a chance for him to build camaraderie with his new squad.
I am going to predict we probably see Fears playing around 27-30 minutes per game, with the rest going to Ugochukwu. If the combination of those two players is consistently getting at least 12 points and 10 assists per game, as well as contributing solid defense on the other end, then that should be a good start for MSU in 2025-26.
