Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios for MSU's Anton Bonke
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The transfer portal strategy was relatively straightforward for Michigan State this offseason: find a center.
Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke committed to MSU a little more than two weeks after the transfer portal opened. He finished ranked 115th overall and 13th among centers on On3's transfer portal rankings this year. How Bonke performs in his first season with the program will go a long way in determining how far Michigan State can go in March (and maybe April).
The Best-Case Scenario
MSU will be a true national title contender if it gets the version of Bonke it hopes it's getting. Unlocking that version of Bonke will require him to take a step forward in his development, but there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about those chances.
My main reasoning is that Bonke has only been playing basketball since he was 16. He grew up in the island nation of Vanuatu and never really played competitive hoops until he came to America to play JUCO ball for Eastern Arizona College. Most of Bonke's peers at the high-major Division I level have been playing basketball since they were much younger.
This makes Bonke a bit of a "raw" prospect -- a work in progress. Even with that, Bonke still averaged 10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game as a junior at Charlotte. He's proven that he can produce at the level of a starter at the upper portion of the mid-major level.
That's different than doing it in the Big Ten, though. The reason to think that Bonke can do it is that he's made an obvious jump each season during his career. He averaged 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest at Eastern Arizona. Bonke then went up to Providence and hardly played, but Providence is still a different world than JUCO. He moved down a peg to Charlotte last season, and he averaged more points and rebounds there than he did in junior college.
Bonke has also improved his three-point and free-throw percentages during college. He's not going to shoot a ton of threes and was still at just 65.3% from the stripe last season, but progress is progress. Bonke also gets a bit of slack for any free-throw struggles, given that he's 7'2" and most players of his height aren't great in that area.
As is, Bonke is providing the Spartans' probable starting lineup with a high-ceiling center who can run the floor relatively well, stretch out defenses, rebound very well, give them a ton of size in the paint, and can be the team's best rim protector.
Another leap from Bonke would essentially mean that he does those things, but better. Maybe his three-point percentage gets another bump. Perhaps his conditioning improves, and he's able to give Michigan State a heavy dose of minutes when needed.
The ceiling of MSU this coming year really might be as high as Bonke climbs. He doesn't need to be prime Shaquille O'Neal, though. MSU's roster around him is strong enough that being on the level of Carson Cooper in 2025-26, particularly on the offensive end, should be enough to get the Spartans in the natty conversation.
Worst-Case Scenario
The concerning part is that year at Providence. He was getting regular DNPs on a team that finished 12-20 overall and 6-14 during Big East play. Again, Bonke has improved a lot since then; he'll be playing plenty for Michigan State this year. Some players are just better served at the mid-major level, though. Bonke's worst-case scenario would be if that were true about him.
I don't think that will be the case, but it will be tough to rebound if Bonke falls short of expectations. He's the presumptive starting center for a reason. There is supposed to be a bit of a gap between Bonke and his other teammates who can play the five.
Jesse McCulloch was phased out of the regular playing rotation towards the back end of last season. He still has potential as a stretch big, but McCulloch doesn't have Bonke's height or athleticism. The Spartans are going to be asking for another step forward from McCulloch this season, but his ceiling for '26-27 is not as high as Bonke's.
The other option is true freshman Ethan Taylor. He has a lot of promise, too, as a high-4-star recruit ranked 38th overall in the class of 2026, per the 247Sports Composite. His unique athleticism for a seven-footer will also get him on the court this season, but Taylor is very much going to need further development before stepping into a starting role.
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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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