3 MSU Players Who Will Benefit Most From Fears' Return
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A huge part of a point guard's job is to make his teammates look better.
That is a big part of what makes Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. so valuable. He led the team with 15.2 points per game last season while also dishing out a nation-leading 9.4 assists per contest.
Fears could have stuck with the NBA Draft and likely would have gone in the second round, but he opted to return to MSU instead. It positions the Spartans as a national title contender for the 2026-27 season, with most experts having them comfortably in their early top 10 rankings.
Michigan State is made much, much better by getting Fears back. These three players will especially benefit from his return to college:
Carlos Medlock Jr.
The most obvious answer is incoming freshman Carlos Medlock Jr. Had Fears stayed in the NBA, the Spartans would be looking at a scenario where Medlock (again, a freshman) would be the only primary ball-handler on the team. Tom Izzo would probably make a late portal addition or find an international prospect, but Medlock's development path would have to be seriously fast-tracked, no matter who MSU got.
Getting at least one season to back up Fears will do Medlock a lot of good. It's a year to learn and get a front-row seat to what makes Fears successful, and a season to really learn Michigan State's system while getting some meaningful minutes before probably taking over as a starter in 2027-28.
Coen Carr
How does another year of Fears throwing lobs to Coen Carr sound? The two of them have paired up for two of the most exciting points in college basketball countless times. Fears can just put the ball near the backboard, and Carr almost always puts it through. Nobody knows how to time the lobs and exactly how to place them quite like Fears, though.
Carr needs to work on his jump shot, but his athleticism will always be his most valuable asset as a player. No other player amplifies that better than Fears.
Anton Bonke
Bonke is going to get his on pick-and-rolls. Fears did it plenty of times with Carson Cooper at the five, and it might be even easier when Bonke is on the court. He stands at 7'2", the tallest player in program history. Bonke can also move pretty well for somebody his size. His catch radius on lobs will be pretty large, just like it was with Cooper this past year.
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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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