3 Biggest Immediate Priorities in MSU Basketball's Offseason
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WASHINGTON, D.C. --- It's never too early to think about next year.
Michigan State's season is done. The third-seeded Spartans are out of the NCAA Tournament after their 67-63 loss to 2-seed UConn in the Sweet 16 on a late Friday night game that seeped into Saturday morning a bit.
Tom Izzo says that he sees himself continuing to chase National Championships five years from now. Next year has the chance to be one of his best shots at No. 2 in a bit. The keyword there is "chance."
If MSU and Izzo would like to make 2026-27 "the year," they've got to get a couple of things done this offseason:
1. Retain The Core
Before you even think about the portal (we'll get to that in a minute), the first priority is keeping the core of the team together. Izzo and Michigan State saw a core, homegrown member of last year's team, Tre Holloman, leave. After going just 4-for-16 from deep and having inconsistent shooting for most of the season, it sure felt at times that this team could really have used a Holloman on the roster.
Living under the assumption that guys will just come back these days is, to be frank, delusional. Sure, Jeremy Fears Jr. loves it at MSU, but he's an All-American point guard now who will be well within his rights to walk into Izzo's office tomorrow and set down a hefty price for another season of his services.
The same goes for guys like Coen Carr and Jordan Scott, both being players who improved a lot this season and will have humongous roles next season if they were to return. Cam Ward's another guy with a bright future in this program if he stays the course, though he may be a little rougher around the edges as of now.
Oh yeah, and there's that whole tampering thing that is plaguing the sport. Nearly every college coach would love a point guard like Fears or an athletic freak like Carr on their roster. Somehow, I have doubts that none of them have kicked the tires on those guys' availabilities.
2. High-End Portal Center
It's kind of boring to say chuck money at everything, but that's how the game is played nowadays. When it comes to acquiring new players, the obvious hole is a center who can start with the departure of Carson Cooper.
The Spartans have high four-star center Ethan Taylor coming in via the team's highly touted 2026 recruiting class, but Taylor is considered to be a bit more of a raw prospect with great physical tools that Michigan State will have to polish.
MSU cannot afford to cheap out NIL-wise at the center position. Whomever the Spartans take would preferably be a guy with one or two years of eligibility remaining and a proven track record of production at the high-major level.
As for who that might be, good question! The transfer portal still won't be open until after the national title game, so that's definitely still TBD.
3. Strengthen Two-Guard Spot
As said earlier, it did feel like there was a bit of a Tre Holloman-shaped hole in this season's roster. The lack of consistent production at the two spot was one of the things that plagued Michigan State all season. Trey Fort was running there for a bit, then it was Kur Teng, then it was Divine Ugochukwu, and then it was Scott.
Scott was the final and highest-ceiling option, but he definitely was struggling at the end of his freshman year, and the question would've started coming up again if the season had been extended by a couple more games.
Some difficult decisions may have to be made here. A relatively thin backcourt towards the end of this season now will seem pretty full. Carlos Medlock Jr. is now coming to back up Fears (presumably) at point guard, and then Jasiah Jervis is arriving to help play shooting guard.
This leaves players like Ugochukwu and Teng in a precarious spot. Neither of them is in a position to start next year as juniors right now, and now some freshmen who are probably too good to redshirt are coming up the pipeline.
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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