Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
Akins, Richardson Earn All-District Honors; Izzo Coach of the Year
3/20/2025 2:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State men's basketball senior guard Jaden Akins and freshman guard Jase Richardson earned Great Lakes All-District Honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) this week.
Akins was selected to the Great Lakes All-District First Team, while Richardson earned second team honors. In addition, MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo was named the Great Lakes All-District Coach of the Year.
Akins, who was named All-Big Ten Third Team and selected to the All-Defensive Team, leads the Spartans in scoring with 12.9 points per game, is fourth on the team in rebounds (3.6 rpg) and leads the team in minutes played (26.8). The senior co-captain became the 57th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career earlier this year and is one of just 23 players in program history to score at least 1,000 points, grab 400 rebounds and hand out 150 assists. He has scored in double figures 26 times this year, including three games with at least 20 points.
Akins has also been a key factor in MSU ranking among the best defensive teams in the country, ranking among the top-20 nationally in field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin.
Overall this season, Richardson is second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and minutes played (24.6 mpg), while adding 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He is second on the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 51.2 percent of his shots (128-of-250), including 41.2 percent of his 3-point attempts (40-of-97).
Richardson, who was named All-Big Ten Third Team by the coaches and the media and was selected to the All-Freshman Team, has scored in double figures 20 times, including the last 11 games. Since moving into the starting lineup 11 games ago, Richardson, who has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times, is averaging 17.3 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (61-of-122).
Izzo guided the Spartans to the Big Ten Regular Season title this year after losing the team's top three scorers from last year and being picked fifth in the league by preseason polls. MSU finished the regular season with a 26-5 record, including a 17-3 mark in the Big Ten, winning the regular season by three games and setting a school record for most conference wins. It was the 11th Big Ten regular season title for the Spartans under Izzo, tying a Big Ten record for most titles. Earlier this year, the Spartans beat Illinois for Izzo's 354th Big Ten Conference, breaking the record of 353 set by former Indiana coach Bob Knight.
Michigan State, the No. 2 seed in the South Region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, plays either No. 15 seed Bryant on Friday, March 21 (10 p.m., TBS) at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Akins was selected to the Great Lakes All-District First Team, while Richardson earned second team honors. In addition, MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo was named the Great Lakes All-District Coach of the Year.
Akins, who was named All-Big Ten Third Team and selected to the All-Defensive Team, leads the Spartans in scoring with 12.9 points per game, is fourth on the team in rebounds (3.6 rpg) and leads the team in minutes played (26.8). The senior co-captain became the 57th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career earlier this year and is one of just 23 players in program history to score at least 1,000 points, grab 400 rebounds and hand out 150 assists. He has scored in double figures 26 times this year, including three games with at least 20 points.
Akins has also been a key factor in MSU ranking among the best defensive teams in the country, ranking among the top-20 nationally in field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin.
Overall this season, Richardson is second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and minutes played (24.6 mpg), while adding 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He is second on the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 51.2 percent of his shots (128-of-250), including 41.2 percent of his 3-point attempts (40-of-97).
Richardson, who was named All-Big Ten Third Team by the coaches and the media and was selected to the All-Freshman Team, has scored in double figures 20 times, including the last 11 games. Since moving into the starting lineup 11 games ago, Richardson, who has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times, is averaging 17.3 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (61-of-122).
Izzo guided the Spartans to the Big Ten Regular Season title this year after losing the team's top three scorers from last year and being picked fifth in the league by preseason polls. MSU finished the regular season with a 26-5 record, including a 17-3 mark in the Big Ten, winning the regular season by three games and setting a school record for most conference wins. It was the 11th Big Ten regular season title for the Spartans under Izzo, tying a Big Ten record for most titles. Earlier this year, the Spartans beat Illinois for Izzo's 354th Big Ten Conference, breaking the record of 353 set by former Indiana coach Bob Knight.
Michigan State, the No. 2 seed in the South Region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, plays either No. 15 seed Bryant on Friday, March 21 (10 p.m., TBS) at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
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