Graduate student guard Joshua Langford (1) looks for an open teammate as coach Tom Izzo yells directions to the team in the second half. The Spartans came back after the first half to pull out a 109-91 win against Oakland University on Dec. 13, 2020.
He sat on the bench for two long years, nursing his foot post-surgery and praying to get back onto the court for one last shot at redemption before he had to hang up the green and white No. 1 jersey forever.
Now, as a graduate student, the 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard has recovered. Yes, Joshua Langford is back and as the eldest veteran on the team, it's his job to lead his Spartan teammates to victory throughout Big Ten play, which kicks off against Northwestern at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 20.
What happened?
Langford had missed the entire 2019-20 campaign, as well as the final 17 games of the 2018-19 campaign, after injuring his foot and having season-ending surgery Dec. 17, 2019.
The former co-captain spent most of the spring and summer going through rehabilitation and returned to practice in full uniform at the start of the 2020-21 season.
Who is Langford?
The Alabama-native appeared in 35 games during his first year at Michigan State, starting 27, averaging 6.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 21 minutes.
He only went up from there.
During his second year, he was the co-recipient of MSU's Best Defensive Player Award, after starting in all 35 games, averaging 11.7 points, 3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27 minutes.
For his third year, he was one of three captains, as well as the recipient of the Stephen G. Scofes Inspirational Player Award. He only started the first 13 games of the season, as he was then sidelined for those final 17 games with injury. He averaged 15 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists and scored double figures in all but one of the games he was featured in.
Langford appeared on the team as a player in the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and 2017 and was a part of a Big Ten Conference tournament win in 2016.
While the Spartans were in said tournaments and winning in the years 2018-19, Langford was, again, sidelined until coronavirus hit.
Now, with everything in utter uncertainty, Langford can only hope for the best.
"I've been blessed and fortunate enough to be on a few different teams here and a few different seasons," Langford said before the Spartans' game against Oakland University (0-7) on Sunday. "My first year was a tough year, my freshman year. My sophomore year we had one of the better teams in the country; we were No. 1 for a lot of that year. My junior year we had a great team as well. Just being on all those different teams and having all that different experience, I think the one thing I've learned throughout all those different years was to be able to know how to stay even-keeled and not necessarily just be moved by results, but just be moved by your goals and what you set out to be focused in to do."
Six games in, hopes for what's to come
"You can't determine a true champion by how he acts when he wins or loses, but you determine a true champion by how he prepares, the attitude he brings, regardless of the outcome," Langford said.
On Sunday night, Langford scored 13 points, shooting 2-for-7 from the arc and 5-for-10 from the field, a season-high. He also snatched five rebounds and dished out four assists against the Golden Grizzlies, playing for a total of 22 minutes, the third most for the Spartans that night.
Langford said postgame that he feels he's starting to get his rhythm back, and that his teammates and coaches are continuously encouraging and finding him in different areas of the game.
He said he's been in the gym and watching film a lot more, doing whatever he can to get himself in the best shape and position possible for both his team and himself. "Controlling the controllables," he said.
"I was really happy that Josh got 10 (or so) shots up, ... but I think he needs to be ready to shoot (more often) ," Head Coach Tom Izzo said. "... If we can get him 10-12 shots, I feel really good that he's going to shoot 50%. What impressed me (Sunday), his defense was maybe the best of anybody on our team. He got down, and he got after it. He's become a much better passer, ... and I think Josh is going to take off if we can keep him healthy."
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Izzo shared a laugh when he said Langford has become a coach both on and off the court, and his voice was filled with gratitude as he said he's glad Langford is back.
