3 Determining Factors for MSU Basketball Entering Massive Season
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College basketball is closer than it may appear.
Tuesday marks the official start of practice for Michigan State basketball, which is 41 days away from its official season opener against Quinnipiac on Nov. 2, as well as just 10 days from its first exhibition contest against Incarnate Word.
MSU has national title aspirations this year and will almost certainly begin the year inside the top 10 of the AP preseason poll. The Final Four being in Detroit only adds to the pressure and the urgency. Some things need to go right for the Spartans to live up to those expectations, though.
Can Fears Make Another Leap?
The best news head coach Tom Izzo probably got in the offseason was Jeremy Fears Jr.'s decision to withdraw from the NBA Draft and return for his fourth season at Michigan State. It was widely expected that Fears would eventually withdraw when he initially declared for the draft, but some nervousness definitely crept in when Fears performed well at the NBA Combine and waited until roughly 90 minutes before the final deadline to announce that withdrawal.
Fears has gotten better and better each year in his long recovery from being shot in the leg during his true freshman season at MSU. Last season was when things really clicked. Fears averaged 15.2 points per game and led the nation with 9.4 assists per contest to become an All-American.
Now, the question is whether Fears can become even better. His obvious weakness, and perhaps the reason why he's still in college, is three-point shooting. Fears made just 32.1% of his three-point attempts last year, on 3.1 tries per game. Get that up into the high-30s, and Fears will be borderline unguardable at the collegiate level.
Fears could be the National Player of the Year this season. EvanMiya.com has him as the top-rated player in college basketball entering the '26-27 season. The gap between him and Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner in second place is larger than the gap between Tanner and 15th place.
How Does Center Position Look?
Center is the spot on the floor that probably has the lowest floor for Michigan State this season. The Spartans have three players who will command some playing time there in 2026-27, and all three are relatively unproven.
Anton Bonke is the only transfer MSU took in this offseason and the expected starter at the five. He averaged 10.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game at Charlotte last year, but the jump to the Big Ten begs questions. Bonke spent the 2024-25 season at Providence, where he scarcely played. Still, his ceiling is high as somebody who discovered basketball late, stands at 7'2", and has a three-point shot.
Michigan State also has third-year player Jesse McCulloch and freshman Ethan Taylor available at the five. McCulloch came off the bench in 28 games last year, averaging 2.4 points per game, but was removed from the regular playing group in late February and March.
Taylor was a high 4-star prospect, but he feels like a raw prospect who will need a year before he's truly ready for primetime. He'll get some run this year, but Taylor coming in and immediately being a 20-minute-per-game player would be a surprise.
Can Another Star Emerge?
Izzo and MSU know that they'll have some stars in Fears and Coen Carr. It's a guarantee that the Spartans will have the best distributor in the nation with Fears and a dunker who can shift momentum in games in an instant with Carr. Michigan State will need another player or two to move into that elite tier.
Both members of MSU's 2025 recruiting class feel like candidates to do just that. Jordan Scott will get on more NBA radars this season with his high motor, great three-point shot, and the length and versatility he provides as a defender. He feels like somebody who won't need to use up all his college eligibility to become pro-ready.
Then there's Cam Ward. Izzo thought highly of Ward throughout his freshman year and seemed to think it would've been even better had Ward not suffered an early-season wrist injury. Ward became a bit of a fan favorite with his high effort, upbeat personality, and overall physicality.
There are also high expectations for two incoming freshmen in the Spartans' backcourt: Carlos Medlock Jr. and Jasiah Jervis. Medlock is set to be Fears' backup at point guard, but his handles and creativity on offense mean he'll probably command playing time beyond just the 8-10 minutes Fears is on the bench.
Jervis is the highest-rated member of Michigan State's 2026 highly regarded recruiting class. He plays shooting guard, which was MSU's biggest weakness last season. Jervis probably won't start right away there, but he feels like the kind of freshman who will eventually work his way into the starting five, much like Scott last season.
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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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