Tyson Walker: 3 things to know about the MSU guard

Senior guard Tyson Walker has evolved into a leader for the Michigan State men's basketball team this season, as his ability to play both shooting guard and point guard has helped elevate the Spartans to the Sweet 16 after wins over USC and Marquette.

Get to know Walker with a few facts about his life as MSU prepares for Thursday night's game against Kansas State.

This week's trip to NYC is a homecoming for Tyson Walker

Tyson Walker is a Long Island boy, as he calls Westbury, New York, home and attended Christ the King High School in Queens.

Much like Joey Hauser downplaying the second-round game against his former school, Marquette, Walker didn't have a lot to say regarding the hometown return during media interviews on Wednesday, saying he hadn't recommended any places to eat to his teammates and adding he didn't have any favorite restaurants. He did say he would try to go home and see his dog, Saint. But that's about it.

However, after the Marquette win, Tom Izzo did jokingly say that he wanted a cab ride and big slice of New York City pizza from Walker, while also wanting him to pay for it with his NIL money. And on Tuesday, Walker delivered two boxes of Denino's pizza to his coach.

Tyson Walker transferred to MSU from Northeastern

After Cassius Winston's graduation, the 2020-21 season was a difficult one by Spartan standards as they struggled to replace the production of their All-American point guard. They went 15-13 and 9-11 in the Big Ten, but still snuck into the tournament, losing to UCLA in a First Four game.

A large part of the struggles came from MSU's inability to replace Winston, as Rocket Watts, Foster Loyer, A.J. Hoggard and Josh Langford all took turns trying to get a handle at the point. But the experiments with Watts and Loyer failed, as both transferred at season's end, leaving Izzo well short on ball handlers.

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Enter Walker.

He had a breakthrough sophomore season at Northeastern in 2020-21, leading the Colonial Athletic Association in points (19.3) and steals (2.5) in league play, earning first-team all-conference and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Any time a mid-major player has a breakout season now, they're always a threat to enter the transfer portal, and that's what Walker did, as the Spartans beat out Maryland, Kansas, Texas, Miami and Vanderbilt for his services.

Unlike Hauser, he didn't have to sit out a transfer year, due to NCAA rules regarding the pandemic. Walker started in 28 of 36 games last year, averaging 8.2 points per game. His best scoring performance was a 26-point game in a loss to Illinois.

This season, he's the team's leading scorer at 14.8 points per game, and his clutch play in the first two NCAA tournament games has been vital to the Spartans reaching the Sweet 16. He scored 23 in the Marquette win and had a season-high 31 in a loss to Iowa.

Before college, Walker also played one post-grad year at New Hampton School in New Hampshire.

Tyson Walker's first in-game dunk was Sunday

Tyson Walker may "only" be 6-foot-1, but you would think someone with his athletic ability and hops has surely put down at least a handful of dunks in his four-year college career.

You would be wrong.

Walker had never converted an in-game slam dunk until Sunday's second-round game against Marquette. And what a time it was for Walker to deliver it.

With less than a minute to go and the Spartans leading the Eagles, 64-55, Walker picked the pocket of Kam Jones on the wing, then dribbled the length of the court without anybody in front of him and put down a two-handed dunk.

That gave MSU an 11-point lead. Very timely.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Tyson Walker: 3 things to know about the Michigan State guard