Michigan State’s Elite Eight squad has three players in their final season of eligibility, but only one of them has spent all of his years of eligibility in East Lansing: Jaden Akins.

The Farmington, Michigan native - who has a well-known childhood photo expressing his desire to play for the Spartans some day - knows that his dream (that has become reality) can end at any point in this one and done event.

Akins is playing like a true senior leader.

“It means a lot,” Akins said prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament. “I don't take it for granted to be playing in the tournament. We definitely are all excited to be here and ready to go. I feel like Jase (Richardson) and Jeremy (Fears Jr.), (these are) the moments they live for, and they're ready for it. I just told them, keep doing what they do.”

After a difficult night against the Bryant Bulldogs that resulted in 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting, Akins has been able to come through in big moments for the second-seeded Spartans against both No. 10 New Mexico and No. 6 Ole Miss.

Last Sunday against the Lobos, MSU’s senior leader provided a team-high 16 points while shooting 7-for-11 from the field. The biggest make of them all was when Akins broke a tie at 51 by hitting a pull-up three-pointer as the shot clock was dwindling down. After that moment, Michigan State led the final seven minutes of the game.

“I feel like it was pretty big, just giving us the lead,” Akins said after that game about the shot. “It gave us some momentum. I think they called a timeout, so that just gave us a lot of confidence. It felt good. I ain't been shooting good, so it just felt good to be efficient.”

Then in the Sweet 16 against Ole Miss, Akins scored eight of his 13 points in the second half, including two massive free throws that turned a two-point lead into four with 26 seconds left. Akins also put MSU ahead for good by finishing in the paint with 1:27 to go, despite some tight defense from the Rebels.

“We were in a play, it broke down, and I was at the top of the key, and I just tried to make a play and to be calm,” Akins said after Friday’s game. “I saw an opening, and I took it. Thankfully, I made the shot.”

It was the version of Akins that had been imagined by many prior to the season and the version he flashed at times early on in the season, when he scored 23 points in the season opener versus Monmouth and had a career-high 25 points against Samford.

The problem is that Akins hasn’t been able to truly be a reliable ‘go-to’ guy.

The shooting slump has been real: Akins has gone from shooting 42% from deep as a sophomore, to 37% as a junior, to now being just above 29% this year.

“It's a long season,” Akins said Friday. “With my shooting struggles, I stayed in the gym, still believed in myself, still confident. I feel like the team needs me to make plays down the stretch for us to win. I'm looking to do that. I'm not really worrying about my shooting.”

“(Akins is a 35 percent) or so, maybe even higher, three-point shooter over his career,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said in between the first and second round games. “He’s 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 (against Bryant).”

Instead of just being a catch-and-shoot three-point guy, Akins has found multiple other ways to impact games. For starters, Akins has been Michigan State’s top defensive player all season, consistently making things difficult for opposing guards, which led to him being named to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team. He didn’t win the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award, but he earned some real consideration for it.