3 Huge Debuts That Headlined MSU's Season-Opening Win vs. Quinnipiac
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EAST LANSING — No. 6 Michigan State looked mighty sharp in its first official game on Monday night.
One of the best parts was that several newcomers were among the brightest stars. Six different scholarship players made their official Spartan debuts in the 96-59 win over Quinnipiac. Three of those guys seemed particularly impressive.
F Kaleb Glenn
The belated debut from Kaleb Glenn was a very successful one. He'd struggled through MSU's three exhibition games, but Glenn was ready for the first game that counted. He made all five of his shots from the field to drop 11 points in his first official contest with the team and his first official game since suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
"It felt great," Glenn said after the game. "It was probably one of the best moments that I've had in a very long time. It felt good to be back out there hitting shots, cheering on my teammates, playing in front of a crowd. It's been a while since I've played in front of a crowd like that, so I'm pretty happy about that."
Glenn was supposed to have a major role on last season's squad before his injury. He was largely considered the top get out of four total transfer portal additions Tom Izzo made that offseason, and Glenn's absence was felt. It often seemed like Michigan State was a wing guy away from leveling up offensively, and Glenn was supposed to be that guy. Just on an individual level, seeing him succeed on Monday was a very positive sign.
G Carlos Medlock Jr.
Freshman Carlos Medlock Jr. also made about as good a first impression as one could. His very first official possession in college basketball ended with him draining a step-back three. Medlock's entire opening shift was highly impressive, recording nine points, two assists, and a steal in just over four minutes on the floor.
"It was a great feeling to see the ball go in for the first time," Medlock said with a grin following the game. "But like I was saying, it's a confidence thing. I'm not going to stop shooting."
C Anton Bonke
The debut from Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke may have been the most important performance of the night, though. Bonke has been highly scrutinized through the exhibition games, but he dropped a much-needed 11 points with 13 rebounds and two blocks. He seemed to play within himself a lot more on Monday, and it's the type of performance Izzo has needed to see from him as he tries to figure out the quagmire that is Michigan State's center position.
"It's not the players that always need it; the coach needs to have some confidence in the players," Izzo said postgame about Bonke's performance. "If you respond, that's the greatest gift a coach can get from a player: that you push, respond. He still has trouble maybe moving laterally a little bit, but he was much better than he was over the weekend."
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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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