3 MSU Hoops Observations From Final Day of Moneyball Pro-Am
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HOLT, Mich. -- Michigan State's summer basketball season came to a thrilling conclusion at the Moneyball Pro-Am on Thursday night.
Jeremy Fears Jr. had a nice shot at a championship-winning three for Team LAFCU, but the buzzer-beating shot was off, making Team Faygo this year's victors in a 74-72 result. Faygo featured sophomore forward Cam Ward, freshman Jasiah Jervis, and former Spartan Tre Holloman. They also bested Team Motorcars (Carlos Medlock Jr., Anton Bonke) on a game-winning three from Jervis earlier that evening.
Jervis' Heroics
The biggest individual winner of the final day of the Moneyball Pro-Am was Jervis. He scored 42 points, including that game-winner from about 28 feet away or so with just a few seconds remaining. Jervis made nine total three-pointers during the semifinal, tied for the most of anybody at Moneyball all summer.
Jervis called game! Fears and Taylor vs. Jervis and Ward for the title game pic.twitter.com/LtuMMpvNKl
— Ryan (@SpartanRyan) July 30, 2026
Jervis has looked like a borderline 5-star prospect all summer. He's ranked 32nd overall in the class of 2026 on the 247Sports Composite, including sixth among shooting guards. His abilities as a secondary creator next to Fears are the type of thing MSU was sorely missing last season. Tom Izzo may not give him a starting role right off the bat, but Jervis' scoring and creation at 6'4" fit the shooting guard role extremely well.
"It's a great feeling," Jervis said after the victory over Team LAFCU. "A freshman beating a senior teammate [Fears], you know, [that's] bragging rights, I guess. It's just a great feeling. A lot of fans come out here, and support, and this is their first time seeing me in person, and I think I put on a show."
High Intensity From Fears
Thursday night was also pretty quintessential Fears. He was talking trash with Jervis nearly the entire game, challenging him to guard him multiple times. Fears once asked for a technical foul on Holloman (he would've been right in a regular game, to be fair) and was even asking for a defensive three-second violation at another point. He was hardly treating Thursday like a summer exhibition.
"Me and him going back and forth, it's great," Jervis also said. "I'm getting a chance to compete with a high-level individual, and he's just going to make me better."
"We get bragging rights [until next summer]," Ward said about taking down Fears and Ethan Taylor. "I'm not going to stop talking about it, because we beat Fears twice. That means a lot in our building."
This is a bit off-topic, but Ward also hinted after the championship game that Michigan State is probably going to add another premier non-conference game this season. Ward says the game isn't confirmed just yet, but he says he "can't wait" for the contest against the mystery opponent to be announced.
MSU already has exhibitions against Marquette (road) and UConn (home) set up, as well as regular-season games against Duke (in Chicago), Tennessee (road), Arkansas (in Detroit), and Gonzaga (in California). Michigan State announced its full non-conference schedule in early September last year, so stay on the lookout for another big addition to the slate.
Another Impressive Showing for Medlock
Medlock may have been my personal favorite player to watch this summer. His dribble moves, creativity, and the innate ability to just go get a bucket he shows on the offensive end feel Jase Richardson-esque at times. Coincidentally, Richardson was in attendance for the final day of action at Moneyball -- as were Carson Cooper and Mateen Cleaves.
"I watched him play in Las Vegas not too long ago," Richardson told Spartan Nation on Thursday. "I was kind of just impressed by the way he's able to get his teammates involved, his pace, his speed. I think that's really what sets him apart. His pacing and speed -- the guy's super quick. Not a lot of basketball players can stand in front of him, so I think that's the biggest thing."
Medlock had the two highest-scoring performances of the summer, scoring 48 points twice. The second of those two games was in the first round of the Moneyball playoffs, when the team came back from a large deficit to upset Team Tri-Star Trust, featuring Coen Carr and Jesse McCulloch. Medlock also had 38 points on Thursday during the semifinal defeat to Team Faygo.
A point guard who can provide a change of pace is another thing Michigan State desperately missed last year. It's a small part of what made Richardson valuable during the Spartans' Big Ten championship season. Fears is a pass-first player. Medlock wants to score it. Neither is necessarily the wrong way to play, but having solid players at either option makes things more challenging for opposing defenses.
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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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