Rocket Watts has gone from one MSU to another. The former Michigan State guard from Detroit, who entered the NCAA transfer portal after the end of the 2020-21 season, announced Saturday on Instagram that he has committed to Mississippi State.
Source: Detroit News
Rocket Watts’ name is in the NCAA transfer portal, and it doesn’t sound like he plans on turning back and returning to Michigan State basketball. Watts released a statement Monday, shortly after his name appeared in the transfer database, indicating his time with the Spartans is over.
Source: Spartan Tailgate
Michigan State basketball’s backcourt will look a lot different next season. The Free Press confirmed that sophomore guard Rocket Watts entered the NCAA transfer portal on Monday. The Detroit Old Redford and St. Edward (Ohio) SPIRE Academy product was considered one of the keys to this season, but struggled in his second season at MSU.
Source: Detroit Free Press
For the second straight week, Michigan State had to pull a player during a game and is now waiting on COVID-19 test results. Sophomore Rocket Watts never came out of the locker room at the end of halftime Saturday in Michigan State’s 88-58 loss to No. 15 Iowa at the Breslin Center, and he is now in isolation after feeling ill during the first half.
Source: Detroit News
With Langford likely out until at least Sunday and Brown slated to miss the next couple of weeks, Michigan State will feature a heavy dose of Rocket Watts on the wing which could actually boost his confidence and it could be his time to shine.
Source: Spartan Avenue
Michigan State’s Rocket Watts-to-point guard experiment may not be coming to a complete end, but it will be slowing down significantly. “I envision him playing a lot more two now,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said on Thursday morning.Izzo hopes that change can help his talented sophomore guard start playing better and help Michigan State end its current three-game losing streak.
Source: mlive.com
Rocket Watts was hiding a little something from his coaches coming into the season. The sophomore combo guard has a bruise on his knee. The competitor in him wanted to keep it from his coaches, to get started on a season that, due to the coronavirus, has at times felt like it might not arrive. But they figured it out, and Foster Loyer not only got the start at point guard in the season opener against Eastern Michigan but was also the star of the game, scoring 20 points.
Source: Lansing State Journal
Watts is expected to shift from shooting guard to primarily point guard for his sophomore season, in what’s been the most anticipated position change of the Michigan State offseason. The role will have him taking over the linchpin position in the Spartans’ offense, one that comes under the most scrutiny, including from the head coach.
Source: mlive.com
Moving Watts from shooting guard would alter the Spartans’ offensive identity a bit after four years of two-time All-American Cassius Winston, who was a pass-first point guard. It is a transition that would rekindle memories of Kalin Lucas and Keith Appling and some of the more offensively minded, attacking lead guards from Izzo’s past.
Source: Detroit Free Press
This year one of the biggest worries for the coaches and fans has to be the point guard position and how MSU will deal not only with the loss of Cassius Winston but also without a true point guard being able to take over for him.
Source: The Only Colors
Mark “Rocket” Watts is in position to be one of the most important players for the Michigan State Spartans basketball team this coming season — whenever it does begin. While there are other returning players with more experience, more NBA-hype, or who will likely play more irreplaceable roles, Watts, if he plays to the peak of his abilities, should be the catalyst for the team and for the season.
Source: The Only Colors
Rocket Watts is a classic example of why watching games as opposed to peeking at box scores is crucial to understanding a player’s impact and development over the course of a season. Solely by the numbers, Watts had what would appear on the surface to be a rather underwhelming statistical season. He shot 39% from the field (worst among scholarship players) and carried an offensive rating (points produced divided by possessions used) of 95.2, the worst rating on the team
Source: Spartan Hoops
The Spartans’ freshman shooting guard moved past an early season injury to steadily improve over the second half of the season. By the final stretch of the season, he was among the Spartans’ best scorers and defenders, raising hope for what he can accomplish next season and beyond.
Source: MLive.com
Cassius Winston and freshman Rocket Watts were named the Big Ten Player of the Week and the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, respectively, on Monday. The duo helped the Spartans to a pair of wins last week, winning at then-No. 20 Penn State, 79-71, on Tuesday, and following that up with a win over then-No. 20 Ohio State, 80-69, on Sunday.
Cassius Winston’s uncanny court vision found Rocket Watts momentarily open in the corner. The skip pass arrived. Watts caught it and fired. The defender converged late and steamrolled the Michigan State guard. His 3-pointer fell through the net as the whistle blew while he lay on the ground. He had a huge smile and picked up his head as his roommate, Malik Hall, stood over him shouting. The two freshmen were about to become Big Ten champions.
Source: Detroit Free Press
No player has changed the trajectory of this long and emotionally draining season like Rocket Watts, the freshman from Detroit. “He’s helped turn us around,” said Mike Garland, MSU’s assistant coach. Not only turn the team around, but raise its ceiling.
Source: Detroit Free Press
The way the two freshmen played on Saturday, was a sign that neither are no longer playing like freshmen. Hall was big early in the game, finishing through contact to score around the time then grabbing tough rebounds and hitting a couple of shots in the second half. Watts was busy blanketing Maryland’s Anthony Cowan most of the night before capping things off with five straight points – a 3-pointer from the corner and a pull-up jumper from the baseline – that tamped out the Terps’ final rally.
Source: Detroit News
As No. 24 Michigan State prepared for the rematch Saturday night at Maryland, Watts was determined he’d be dialed in on playing a full 40 minutes on Cowan. He spent more time in the film room and by the time the ball tipped in the second game in two weeks between the teams, Watts was ready.
Source: Detroit News
What struck Michigan State’s coaches about Rocket Watts on Tuesday night at Illinois was his noticeable sense of responsibility in a perilous moment. Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman were both on the bench in foul trouble and MSU turned to Watts to run the show. “It was so apparent, you could see it in his eyes,” MSU assistant coach Mike Garland said. “Like, Chief (Tom Izzo) put him at the point, he was coming down (the court) and you could just see it.”
Source: Lansing State Journal