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Michigan State Basketball: Cassius Winston needs to be full-time starter

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:55 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Connor Muldowney/FanSided via Spartan Avenue

With Cassius Winston playing well over the past few weeks, it’s obvious he should be the full-time starter for Michigan State basketball.

To start the 2016-17 season, Tum Tum Nairn looked to be the leader for Michigan State basketball. He has proven to be a vocal leader both on and off the court and players just seem to like him. However, all the talk of his improved offense has proven to be nothing more than just that — talk.

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Cassius Winston came into the program with high hopes and you can bet that he expected to grow into a starting role sooner rather than later. He sat back while Nairn got the start for the first month and a half of the season and he’s finally taking the reigns.

In fact, the true freshman got his first start on Wednesday against Oakland and it won’t be his last, either. The former highly-touted recruit from Detroit U-D Jesuit has been phenomenal over the past month ever since he had a heart-to-heart with Tom Izzo while driving around campus.

These past few games have proven that Cassius needs to be the full-time starter at point guard and Izzo would be silly to take that away from him. He’s earned the job by cutting down on silly turnovers, taking better shots and dishing out assists like they’re going out of style.

The offense ran smoother with Winston starting against Oakland and that ended up being the Spartans’ most comfortable victory in weeks. He can score, but he’s more of a pass-first kid. However, he has been known to take the ball to the basket and make a pretty layup over defenders.

Moreover, he’s becoming a leader and his teammates are placing their trust in him — especially Nick Ward. He’s averaging 7.5 points and 6.0 assists per game, but his playing time is increasing. The rest of the Big Ten should be on notice.

For the long and short-term success of Michigan State basketball, Winston needs to remain in the starting lineup.

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