Spartan Captain Proves Tom Izzo's Development Process Still Works
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In today's world of college sports, it's rare to see a player stay all four years at one school and allow the development process to do its job and get the very best out of them, but Michigan State's Tom Izzo still thrives on his developmental practices.
The coach has been abundantly outspoken against many of the changes that have happened in college athletics, and this year, he's proving his point. Izzo's team is 18-2 and ranked No. 7 in the country, and a couple of his best and most trustworthy players have become a case study in the development of college basketball players over four years, letting their work speak for itself.
That would be seniors Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper. Both have spent their entire college careers at Michigan State, never even hinting at playing somewhere else. Kohler is now the team's leading scorer, but as a four-star recruit, he always figured to be a key piece to the puzzle. Cooper, on the other hand, is the much more unlikely story.
Carson Cooper's Recruitment
When the Spartans found Carson Cooper at IMG Academy late in the Class of 2022 recruiting process, he was an unranked recruit with offers from Eastern Michigan, American University, Vermont, and Duquesne. Little was known about him except that he was tall and lanky, but Michigan State had a hole in its frontcourt and signed him, about six months before the 2022-23 season, pretty long after the rest of the class had signed.
"I feel like Coach trusted my intangibles that you can't necessarily teach," he said after Saturday's win over Maryland. "The fact that he kind of took a chance on me just being tall, lanky, and being able to move my feet is big, then trusting the process is always the hardest. That's the hardest to see early on."
Carson Cooper's Development
Cooper didn't play much early on, although he saw a little playing time out of necessity. He appeared in 30 games as a 17-year-old freshman in 2022, averaging just over six minutes per game and scoring 1.6 points. He also made an impact defensively, and that's become his calling car throghout his career.
As a sophomore, his role in the roation grew as he averaged 17 minutes per game and started eight times, slightly improving his socring and rebounding to 3.4 points and 4.4 rebounds. Cooper followed that with slight iprovements as a junior on last season's Elite Eight team, but he has taken off as a senior for the No. 7 team in the country, rewarding himself and the MSU program for their hard work.
"It's nice that Coop sat here through the wars, didn't leave, didn't go anywhere, and he made his first three [pointer].," Izzo said after the Maryland win. "He's probably playing the best basketball of his career."
Carson Cooper as a Senior
Carson Cooper is averaging career highs across the board, playing 25.5 minutes with 10.7 piints, 7.2 rebounds, 1.5 assist, 1.1 blocks, and 0.8 steals. He's one of four Spartans averaging doubel figures in scoring, but he makes an impact all over the court.
"The best part about Coop is the scoring is great, but it's his defense tha makes him special and his rebounding," Izzo added. "Rebounding has a stat. Scoring has a stat. Defense usually doesn't have a stat -- how he's up on those ballscreens and he's helping Jeremy [Fears], how he's doing this for Coen [Carr]. Coop is one of my smarter guys academically, and he's one of my smartest guys basketball-wise. He's just growing."
Impacting the Program
Cooper hopes that growing impact extands beyond the court. As he looks around the looker room every day, he sees several players sititng in the shoes he once wore, and he wants to be an example to them of hard work paying off.
"I feel like that's part of what my leadership role is, especially for these younger guys that we have," Cooper said. "Guys like Cam [Ward] and Jesse [McCulloch] -- I feel like I can mentor more than some of the guards. I try to let them know that, when I was a frehsman, I was playing six minure, eight minutes a game and [scoring] two points, so the fact that they're coming in as freshmen and playing 18 to 20 minutes a game, that's still a blessing, and that's still something to take pride in
... I just try to make sure they keep their heads up anddon't get too downif they don't play a greta game or aren't trending necessarily in the right direction because it's a long process, those guys are young, and they've got a long time."
That's part of the unique impact Carson Cooper has made on the Michigan State program and a part that can sometimes get lost in college sports. But as many people know, Izzo doesn't give up on his guys when they work hard, and Cooper has made good on his end of the deal.
"My old boss, Jud Heathcote, once told me that a good deal is a good deal for you and a good deal for me," Izzo said. "He (Cooper) stuck with us, but there were a couple of years where I stuck with him more than he stuck with us. ... I'm lucky to have Coop, and in an arrogant way, Coop's lucky to have me and us, and that's the way I'll stay with."
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-ac9f01ae65e71c7320d1c61247b2ecac.jpg "Travis Tyler")
Travis Tyler joined On SI as a writer in January 2026. He has experience contributing to FanSided’s NFL, college football, and college basketball coverage, in addition to freelance work throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth area, including high school, college, and professional sports for the Dallas Express and contributions to the College Football Dawgs, Last Word on Sports/Hockey, and The Dallas Morning News. In addition to his writing, Travis contributes video and podcasting content to Fanatics View and regularly appears as a guest analyst. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and SMU and is an avid Detroit sports fan with a deep knowledge and appreciation of sports history. Follow Travis Tyler on Twitter at @TTyler_Sports.