MSU's Cooper Reflecting on Career with 2 Home Games Left
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- The reality that the days in a Michigan State uniform are numbered is not lost on the Spartans' seniors.
Carson Cooper is one senior who did college sports the old-fashioned way. He stuck around for four years, didn't transfer, got better after every offseason, and is now the best version of himself at the very end.
Now 26 games into his senior year, Cooper has started every single game for MSU and has career-best averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game. The Jackson, Mich. native whom Tom Izzo and Doug Wocjik discovered on the IMG Academy B team knows the type of opportunity he got here.
"You're going to make me tear up a little bit," Cooper said when asked about the fact that he has two home games left after the team's 82-59 win over UCLA on Tuesday. "It's tough to look at it like that. Every time we come in for pregame shooting and free throws the day before the game and practice, all the stuff, someone brings it up at some point and kind of pulls everything to reality. It really is a blessing to be here and see this whole thing through for four years."
More from Cooper after UCLA Win:
Impact of Cooper at MSU
Guys like Cooper are a reason some people love college sports. Part of the joy of college football or basketball in the past was watching someone come in as a scrawny 18- or 19-year-old freshman and essentially watch them grow up over the course of four or five years. Pre-NIL, you also knew guys were doing this because of some sort of connection with the school you attended or grew up rooting for. It made you feel like a part of the journey.
Cooper's story, as well as Jaxon Kohler's, is becoming more rare by the year, it seems. The transfer portal has now become so ingrained into college athletics that Izzo had to swallow the medicine a little bit and take in four new players via the portal this past offseason.
"I never took any of it for granted," Cooper said. "I think my journey kind of speaks for that and what I've bought in and how the coaches have trusted me throughout the process."
He won't have to think about it too much until the season is done, but Cooper also has a professional career to pursue soon ("there's still sunshine after this," as he said). One of the perks of coming to Michigan State is that there are numerous alumni who have gone down that path. Cooper named Xavier Tillman, Jase Richardson, Max Christie, Jaden Akins, and Frankie Fidler as guys he's connected with the most.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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