MSU's Carson Cooper on the First Big Test of Senior Year

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Saturday against No. 14 Arkansas is going to be the first big-time test for Michigan State center Carson Cooper during his senior year.

Cooper is one of four captains on the team, but only he and Jaxon Kohler are senior captains. The other two are redshirt sophomore Jeremy Fears Jr. and junior Coen Carr. Regardless, Cooper described this one as a big game for the leadership group.

Spartan Nation caught up with Cooper on Thursday, as he talked about the importance of this game and about how a lot of focus is on the Razorbacks' guards, where they are stacked with talent.

Video of Cooper's press availability can be viewed below.

Watch Carson Cooper below:

Additionally, a partial transcript of Cooper's press conference can be read below.

Transcript

Michigan State center Carson Cooper battles for a rebound during a game against Colgate on Nov. 3, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Q: What does this game mean to you as a captain and for the young guys?

COOPER: Yeah, it's awesome. We had a captain's meeting with Coach [Tom Izzo] the other day, and he was saying how rare it is to get big games like this at home. Because most of the time everybody wants to play at neutral sites, so the fact that we got Arkansas and Duke this year is huge.

But for me, it's a cool experience to go out on for my senior year. Big statement game for us. Big game for leadership, so we can get our guys ready and mentally prepared for probably the most packed and energetic game that we're gonna have this year.

Q: Leading up to this game, Coach talked about how the next practice is so important. You got to see a glance at Coach Izzo after the Colgate game and getting ready. What was it like, preparation-wise?

Michigan State's coach Tom Izzo, right, talks with Colgate's head coach Matt Langel before the game on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

COOPER: Yeah, it's intense. But we've got high standards now, and we know what --- I guess everyone that was here last year, we know what a winning culture looks like, what a winning year looks like.

We've got to keep those high standards and high expectations for everybody so there's no drop-off. Even though we won the game, obviously *laughs* since Coach has been here, there's no such thing as just winning the game. So we strive for perfection, we're probably never gonna get there, but most times, you can minimize mistakes, it's gonna be great for our progress.

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