Coen Carr Levels Up MSU, But One Thing Needs Fixing

Every basketball team has two types of leaders, no matter what. Sometimes shared between two players and sometimes done by just one, in which the first leads the team in the flow of the game and plays, while the other leads by bringing momentum and hype to the team.

The Spartans have the first in Jeremy Fears Jr., who is returning to the Spartans for another year of play and will level up the team in substantial ways, giving MSU a really good shot at a title run.

However, the Spartans also have the second in Coen Carr, who delivers big dunks when the Spartans are already on a hot streak or when the team is struggling to get anything going and needs a spark the most.

Carr does his job very well, but there is one thing missing from his game that could make it far better and possibly push the Tom Izzo-led Spartans to a championship at the end of the season.

What Coen Carr Must Improve

Coen Carr, MSU — Mar 21, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Coen Carr (55) shoots in the second half against the Louisville Cardinals during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

While a big dunk gets the team going when there is a big lead, there is one other type of play that gets the team going more than anything else, and that is three-point shooting.

Especially in a big deficit, say nine points, being able to cut the total by an entire third gives the team the energy needed to finish the comeback, but Carr was not very good at shooting threes last season; in fact, it did more harm to the team's momentum than help.

His stats for last season lie at a scary 27.6% three pointers made in total, so every time he chucked up the ball from three, it was highly likely to miss completely and deflate the offense if they couldn't get a rebound.

In fact, there were some moments where opposing teams simply left Carr open from beyond the arc, and it worked in their favor when he ended up missing most of them.

What Would Change if He Improves

Even getting his percentage to move up by 10 percent would immediately take Carr from a shooting liability to a shooting threat, and while that number may be a bit lofty, if he can get there for open three-point attempts, then teams will be forced to guard him more often.

Not only would that give Carr more chances to get big dunks, which are his specialty, but it would open up the floor, potentially giving someone else a chance to hit the big three, therefore still finding new momentum even if not from Carr's hands.

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