Jaden Akins and A.J. Hoggard withdraw from NBA Draft, return to Michigan State

Most early rankings have Michigan State among the top teams in the nation with a good chance of making a Final Four run.

That expectation is based on the fact the Spartans return one of the best backcourts in college basketball, something that was cemented on Wednesday as A.J. Hoggard and Jaden Akins both withdrew from the NBA Draft and will return to Michigan State for the 2023-24 season.

Hoggard, who will be a senior this fall, and Akins, who is entering his junior season, each had submitted their name as an early entry to the draft but both withdrew before Wednesday’s deadline, Michigan State confirmed.

Akins was hampered early last season after undergoing surgery in September to repair a stress reaction in his foot, an injury that forced him to miss four games in late November. However, Akins came alive in the second half of the season, scoring in double figures in six of the final seven games, including 16 in the overtime loss to Kansas State in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder started 25 of 30 games and averaged 9.8 points and four rebounds a game while shooting 42.2% from 3-point range.

More: National analysts: With Akins, Hoggard, MSU basketball 'loaded' for next season

Hoggard (6-4, 205 pounds) took a significant jump as a junior, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors after scoring 12.9 points a game and handing out 5.9 assists, starting 33 of 34 games for the Spartans. He averaged 30.6 minutes a game and shot 32.9% from 3-point range and 80.4% from the free-throw line.

Both Akins and Hoggard are joined in the backcourt by Tyson Walker, who announced in April that he would return to Michigan State for his fifth season in college and third with the Spartans.

The threesome make up one of the top backcourts in the Big Ten and the country and will be joined by five-star freshman Jeremy Fears, a McDonald’s All-American who is part of Michigan State’s top-five recruiting class. Sophomore-to-be Tre Holloman is also back and will factor into the guard rotation, as well.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau