EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — When the 20212-22 basketball season ended, Jaden Akins was ready for a breakout year.

The Farmington Hills sophomore guard spent the summer of 2022 showing off his improved skills, which included his high-flying ability.

Head basketball coach Tom Izzo even thought of Akins as one of his best summer players.

Though things were looking good for Akins heading into the 2022-23 season, an unexpected injury put Akins’ career on a temporary pause.

A stress fracture and surgery took the sophomore off the court for eight weeks.

Akins called the injury disappointing.

“I never had been injured before, [and] had to have surgery before so it was just a whole different feel for me,” said Akins. “But I feel like I kind of just had to be positive about it and knew that I was gonna see a brighter day at the end.”

Akins said having to watch his teammates practice for eight was tough on him, but he spent the time focusing on watching film and communicating with his teammates.

He healed and eventually was back on the court before the start of the season.

Unfortunately, his injury was re-aggravated, thus having to pull him off of the court once again.

He said his parents were a major support for him during that time.

“I’d say my parents just always have faith in me and they told me that it was gonna be good,” said Akins.

After showing a lot of patience, Akins returned to action on Dec. 4 and hasn’t missed a game since.

Two months later, Akins is back to full strength, regularly knocking down threes and throwing down dunks.