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HOLT — With the departures of graduated big men Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler, the interior presence for Michigan State basketball is going to look relatively new this season.
The Spartans helped address the need by securing Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke and bringing in freshman Ethan Taylor. But at the power forward spot, sophomore Cam Ward, the lone returner who saw regular minutes last season inside, is making sure he doesn't get lost in the shuffle.
If the early games in the Moneyball Pro-Am are an indication of things to come this winter, Ward won't be suffering from any sort of sophomore slump.
Through four games, Ward has been the leading scorer in the annual summer league at Holt High School, averaging more than 34 points per game while playing for Team Faygo alongside dynamic freshman guard Jasiah Jervis.
"I would say I'm more mature when it comes to the things that coach wants to see and what he wants to do," Ward said. "Last year, I was just like brand new to everything that he wanted to do, but now come back to my second year, I think I'm more in shape now. I think I pay attention more, and I definitely, like, learned what it takes to play for coach."
After senior Coen Carr dropped 46 points to open Tuesday's slate of Pro-Am games for Team Tri-Star Trust, Ward made sure to do just enough to top him, filling up the bucket with 47 points, including seven 3-pointers in Team Faygo's win over Team BLT.
And while Moneyball is a much more relaxed atmosphere defensively, Ward has shown capability from long range, hitting nine 3-pointers over the first three games after taking just two the entire season for MSU last year.
Ward's freshman season was hampered by a fractured wrist he suffered on Thanksgiving. He was never quite 100 percent the rest of the way, but the struggles with that injury are now in the past.
"It was character building, I think it really like showed that it's tough, and just the adversity you have to go through sometimes" Ward said. "I remember the day it happened, and maybe just got a little sprain there, but it wound up being much more serious. It was a fracture whole time, so it was one of them things playing in the cast for a majority of the year, but other than that, I mean it's behind me now."
With four incoming freshman and a group of big men with little experience in MSU coach Tom Izzo's system, Ward will be monumental in helping guys along and filling a leadership role, even as just a sophomore himself.
"I do feel like a vet with this group, maybe not like the biggest vet, like how Coen and Fears are, but we have that role now as like vets to help the younger guys, Ward said. "That's kind of what the coaches are trying to reiterate to me. Like you have to take a step this year and be somebody that we can have down the stretch and go to.
"So I'm just glad that they see me as that guy, and now I just got to put the work in to get to that point."
Contact Nathaniel Bott at [email protected] and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Seasoned sophomore Cam Ward ready to embrace bigger role for MSU basketball
Continue reading...
The Spartans helped address the need by securing Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke and bringing in freshman Ethan Taylor. But at the power forward spot, sophomore Cam Ward, the lone returner who saw regular minutes last season inside, is making sure he doesn't get lost in the shuffle.
If the early games in the Moneyball Pro-Am are an indication of things to come this winter, Ward won't be suffering from any sort of sophomore slump.
Through four games, Ward has been the leading scorer in the annual summer league at Holt High School, averaging more than 34 points per game while playing for Team Faygo alongside dynamic freshman guard Jasiah Jervis.
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"I would say I'm more mature when it comes to the things that coach wants to see and what he wants to do," Ward said. "Last year, I was just like brand new to everything that he wanted to do, but now come back to my second year, I think I'm more in shape now. I think I pay attention more, and I definitely, like, learned what it takes to play for coach."
After senior Coen Carr dropped 46 points to open Tuesday's slate of Pro-Am games for Team Tri-Star Trust, Ward made sure to do just enough to top him, filling up the bucket with 47 points, including seven 3-pointers in Team Faygo's win over Team BLT.
And while Moneyball is a much more relaxed atmosphere defensively, Ward has shown capability from long range, hitting nine 3-pointers over the first three games after taking just two the entire season for MSU last year.
Ward's freshman season was hampered by a fractured wrist he suffered on Thanksgiving. He was never quite 100 percent the rest of the way, but the struggles with that injury are now in the past.
You must be registered for see images attach
"It was character building, I think it really like showed that it's tough, and just the adversity you have to go through sometimes" Ward said. "I remember the day it happened, and maybe just got a little sprain there, but it wound up being much more serious. It was a fracture whole time, so it was one of them things playing in the cast for a majority of the year, but other than that, I mean it's behind me now."
With four incoming freshman and a group of big men with little experience in MSU coach Tom Izzo's system, Ward will be monumental in helping guys along and filling a leadership role, even as just a sophomore himself.
"I do feel like a vet with this group, maybe not like the biggest vet, like how Coen and Fears are, but we have that role now as like vets to help the younger guys, Ward said. "That's kind of what the coaches are trying to reiterate to me. Like you have to take a step this year and be somebody that we can have down the stretch and go to.
"So I'm just glad that they see me as that guy, and now I just got to put the work in to get to that point."
Contact Nathaniel Bott at [email protected] and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Seasoned sophomore Cam Ward ready to embrace bigger role for MSU basketball
Continue reading...
