Michigan State has not missed an NCAA Tournament in almost thirty years, and coming off of a Sweet Sixteen appearance in last year’s tournament, Tom Izzo aims for the stars this year.
Oh yeah, it is all coming together. The Michigan State Spartans Men’s Basketball team is gearing up for the start of the regular season, with two exhibition games before the regular season starts on November 2nd. Tom Izzo is entering his 32nd year as Michigan State’s head coach, and he has one national title in the 1999-2000 basketball season. This year, Michigan State is aiming for the National Championship, looking to continue the Big Ten’s success after Michigan won the first championship for the conference since Izzo. This team coming into the season is looking like it has the potential to be one of Izzo’s best teams in years. With an even balance of returning contributors and incoming talent, Michigan State has some big shoes to fill this season.
The biggest returning contributor to this team’s success, other than Tom Izzo, of course, is Jeremy Fears Jr., a player who is considered one of the best players and guards in college basketball. Fears was recently named to the CBS Sports Preseason All-America First Team and as the Preseason Player of the Year after his season he had last year. He is a player who led all of college basketball last year in assists per game with 9.4, and he averaged 15.2 points per game. Fears will be shooting for the moon this year, as there is a chance he could etch his name in Big Ten record books. According to CBS Sports, no Big Ten player has averaged more than 10 assists per game in a single year. Jeremy Fears Jr. is a playmaker, shot creator, and creates opportunities for other players with his passing ability to drop dimes to teammates. Fears has had a steady upward trajectory of improvement every season he has stuck around at Michigan State. If that line continues, Fears will be the best he has ever been this season, leading the Spartans to victory.
Michigan State brought back five of their top eight scoring leaders from last year, including Jeremy Fears Jr. That kind of consistency in college basketball will help this team get off to a solid start with a team that has built up so much rapport and chemistry with each other. In an era of the transfer portal and NIL, where Michigan built a championship roster from recruiting and the transfer portal, Izzo has built his championship-caliber roster on recruiting and retaining production. Those other key returners include Coen Carr, Kur Teng, Jordan Scott, and Cam Ward. Scott, Carr, and Ward are expected to play alongside Jeremy Fears Jr. in the starting five, along with transfer center Anton Bonke, who came in from Charlotte. Carr is a hyper-athletic playmaker who rocks the Breslin Center anytime he gets a breakaway transition. He averaged 12 points per game last year and 5.4 rebounds per game, and is coming off of a season where he improved his jumper. Although still not great, if his shot continues to improve, he will be a legitimate problem for any team this season. Jordan Scott and Cam Ward will be looking at their first action as starters as their roles expand. Scott has a nice shot and is a lengthy player, while Ward only averaged a little over 15 minutes a game last year, and his physicality can bring to the table what Kohler and Cooper left.
The new additions to the team should be instant contributors, with a mix of transfer talent and recruits. Anton Bonke comes in as a seven-foot-two center from the portal, while Carlos Medlock Jr. and Jasiah Jervis enter as four-star freshman guards, and a four-star freshman center in Ethan Taylor. Bonke is coming off of a season where he averaged 10.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. If he can continue to bring that level of play up to the Big Ten, then he can fill the shoes that Carson Cooper left in his final season. Cooper averaged 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last year, so Bonke may not score as much, but he could be a bigger contributor in the rebounding game. He has size and strength that MSU did not have before at seven-foot-two, 266 pounds. He can be a big presence in the middle of the floor.
Medlock and Jervis are freshman guards who will get a chance to work their game with Jeremy Fears Jr. before he leaves, and they are preparing to play next season with Top-25 recruit Antonio Pemberton. Medlock is a little undersized and likely will not have a large role this year, but he is athletic, quick, and tough. He has quick hands on the defensive side of the ball and can take this year to get some valuable minutes and learn from one of the best guards in college basketball. Jervis, on the other hand, is the highest-rated of the four-star freshmen entering the team this year. He is expected to become a contributor early and often for the Spartans, as he is a great shot creator at six-foot-four, 200 pounds. He has the size, creation, and versatility to step in right away and add valuable minutes to the Spartans’ lineup. Center Ethan Taylor out of the state of Kansas is the third four-star recruit on the team. He is listed right now at seven-foot-two and is quite quick for his size. Taylor will likely not see much time this year, as he is still developing his strength. He has been called a great passer coming out of high school, as the most underrated part of his game. He will look to play behind Bonke and develop his game as the season goes along to be a big part of the team in the oncoming future.
The Spartans roster lines up well for them to have a great season in the Big Ten and in all of college basketball. Tom Izzo has this team fired up, with plenty of great players to make a run happen. The returners, newcomers, and mix of playmaking and defense should lead the Spartans back to Big Ten supremacy. A National Championship run could be in the cards for this team, led by Izzo and Fears.
