‘There was no love lost, there was no bad blood’

Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press caught up with AJ Hoggard on Thursday to discuss his decision to leave Michigan State last year

Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press caught up with former Michigan State starting point guard AJ Hoggard on Thursday and discussed his decision to transfer last year and his relationship with the program. Both Michigan State and Vanderbilt — Hoggard’s new home — are playing NCAA Tournament games in Cleveland this weekend, which provided a unique reunion of sorts for him.

“There was no love lost; there was no bad blood” Hoggard said about his decisionn.

Here’s a bit of what Hoggard had to say about leaving Michigan State last year and some additional reasoning behind his decision:

“I thought it was just time for something new. I really wanted to go pro, but things weren’t going the way I wanted to go. So just coming back, getting another shot at college and getting a fresh start.”

Hoggard also talked about his relationship with Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and how he still talks ball with his former coach on a regular basis.

“They try to make it seem like me and (Izzo) were at odds the whole time I was there,” Hoggard told Solari. “We had a great relationship. We talk all the time. If I play and they’re not playing, or we’re talking about their game or my game, we keep in touch. And that’s how coach is with everybody – everybody that came and put that jersey on whether it was for one year, two years, he’s the same way with everybody.”

Hoggard has started 30 of 31 games for the Commodores this season, averaging 9.8 points and 4.6 assists per game along the way. He has been a key factor in getting Vanderbilt back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

Hoggard and the Commodores will face No. 7 seed St. Mary’s at approximately 3:15 p.m. ET on Friday, and the Spartans will face No. 15 seed Bryant a few hours later at approximately 10 p.m. ET.

Read more from Solari’s exclusive interview with Hoggard on the Detroit Free Press.