Early Storylines for Michigan State Basketball
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It may be the middle of football season, but the start of basketball season is getting closer and closer. Michigan State's men's team is about three weeks away from its first exhibition game against Bowling Green and just under a month from the season opener versus Colgate.
On this episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast, we go through some of the early storylines around this year's squad, including where the team's three-pointers may come from, who the starters could be, and how much depth the Spartans have.
Below is the full video of today's episode.
Watch the MSU Spartans Insider Podcast here:
In addition, a partial transcript from head coach Tom Izzo's press conference on Tuesday has been provided.
Izzo Transcript
IZZO: I watched a little bit (of the MLB Playoffs), great win for the Tigers, helps our state, that's great. How many innings did Skubal throw?
Reporter: Seven and two-thirds, 107 pitches, I think. He was throwing 101.
IZZO: We better get him up for another game.
Q: How are you feeling two weeks in, wherever you are, since we last saw you, anything interesting develop?
IZZO: You know what? I'm doing better. I mean, I think we're starting to make some progress. Trey (Fort's) been out for four days with the flu and everything. Other than that, we're pretty healthy.
There's no question that the new guys, it takes longer. Thank God that we still have five or six guys that have been in the system. I still say that's going to be very important. This year, next year, and the year after it.
Q: For guys like Kur (Teng) and Jesse (McCulloch), the advantage of being in the program for a year, do you see that?
IZZO: Yeah, I do. And both of them, you know? And Kur's got to be our best shooter. So I feel like he's gotten better defensively.
And Jesse had a rough first half of the day. When you guys (the media) came, he turned on, the lights came on, he turned it on.
Q: Is Trey and Kur, is that a situation you see, I guess, is competitive through the next month or so for that two-guard spot?
IZZO: It isn't very competitive right now, because Trey is not guarding. So he has got to guard somebody, because my 99-year-old mother is not the guy I need, the person I need him guarding. I need him guarding people. So we are on him about that. He is a phenomenal athlete. He has phenomenal strength. He's Coen Carr-ish, only 6'4". Now he's got to guard like Coen.
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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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