Senior day is always a special event for a program filled with history like Michigan State. The Spartans will honor seniors Malik Hall, Tyson Walker and Jason Whitens on Saturday as the team takes on Ohio State at the Breslin Center.
After practice on Thursday, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, Hall, Walker and Whitens spoke to the media ahead of the regular season finale on Saturday.
Hall arrived in East Lansing in 2019. He’s had a career filled with trials and tribulations as he’s had to battle through the COVID-19 pandemic and injuries.
“He’s been through the most and yet the injury this year was tough,” Izzo said about Hall. “Whether he comes back or not, and that decision will be made by him, but we’ll all talk about what could’ve been. He too is now playing his best basketball.”
Hall, the senior forward, can come back for a fifth year of eligibility next season due to the aforementioned pandemic during the 2020-2021 season, but he said he hasn’t made a decision yet.
“I haven’t made any firm decisions yet,” Hall said about his future. “I’m just trying to get through the end of the season to be honest. It’s just the most important and foremost on my mind right now.”
Walker transferred from Northeastern in 2021 and this is his second season with Michigan State. The senior guard still has the option to come back next season, but he, like Hall, has not made that decision yet. Walker said he is taking it “day by day.”
“It’s been fun,” Izzo said about coaching Walker. “I remember in the beginning of the year him saying ‘I feel so much better than I did last year.’ I think he too is going to have more basketball to play, but he’s definitely got more here in the next couple of weeks.”
Whitens is a transfer guard from Western Michigan who joined MSU during the 2021-2022 season. He grew up in the Upper Peninsula (as did Izzo) in Powers, Michigan. Whitens suffered a torn ACL in his first appearance as a Spartan against Ferris State in an exhibition game last season, which forced him to miss the entire 2021-2022 campaign.
“He comes here for his lifetime dream to just be at a school, play at a school like this,” Izzo said about Whitens. “After we give him a scholarship … he blows his knee and decided to stay one more year. God, that’s special. I think that specialness is going to pay dividends for him down the road.”
Whitens is indeed living his dream. He grew up about 20 miles from where Izzo is from, so the Hall of Fame coach always meant something to Whitens. The senior said that there is “no question” that the reality of playing at MSU has lived up to the dream.
“Any kid that has a dream as big as being able to play at a place like this, just keep chasing it and never give up,” Whitens said.
This also might be graduate forward Joey Hauser’s final game at the Breslin Center. However, he will not be honored with the three other seniors because he was honored last season.
“I thought Joey always wanted to be here and I thought he always belonged here," Izzo said. "[He was] someone I felt close to since probably the end of his sophomore year, beginning of his junior year of high school. I’m just really pleased with the year he’s having.”
Izzo thinks that Hauser could apply for a medical waiver so that he could play for MSU next season.
“He would be a good guy to figure out where he’s at … figure out where he is and chances to play beyond here,” Izzo said.
Folks scrolling through MSU’s roster might notice that there is another senior: Steven Izzo. Tom Izzo confirmed with the media today that he will return next season. Steven Izzo has already graduated, but he will complete his master's degree next season.
“He wanted to stay with it,” Tom Izzo said about Steven. “It’s just been an incredible experience having him around every day.”
MSU is starting to fill it up more as of late. The Spartans have scored at least 80 points in each of their last three games.
“I feel like we’re coming together offensively at the right time,” Walker said. “We have a lot of old guys on their way out, so we’re trying to get it done by any means.”
As for the game, the Buckeyes (13-17 overall, 5-14 Big Ten) come in with wins in back-to-back games against Illinois and Maryland.
Ahead of Saturday, Izzo noted that his team had its best practice in two years. Parlaying that into good performances could be a key for MSU to go on a run in March.
The Spartans will host Ohio State on Saturday. The game will tip off at noon Eastern Time on ESPN.