Two Spartans' Stock Soaring After Recent Scrimmage Clips
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Michigan State is going through summer ball right now.
The Spartans recently held a youth camp at the Breslin Center, and the team posted clips of its scrimmage this past Thursday. Given that it's June, this little preview was much-needed. It also shows that freshman Carlos Medlock Jr. and redshirt junior Kaleb Glenn are both in great spots right now.
Week 1 underway 🏀 pic.twitter.com/lFyEPUjzUP
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) June 18, 2026
Key Moments From Scrimmage
Medlock had some particularly interesting moments across the 80-second-long video. He knocked down two stepback jumpers, one being from three and one being of the long two variety. Medlock also beat Jeremy Fears Jr., known for exceptional on-ball defense, off the dribble while going to his left, then finishing strong at the rim with his right.
Glenn also had a couple of nice moments. One clip showed him grabbing an offensive rebound and then eventually knocking down a three-pointer from the right wing later in the same possession. Another had him curling around a handoff by Anton Bonke and then taking it to the rack through some mild contact.
These are the first moments that MSU fans have really gotten to see Medlock or Glenn play in some Spartan uniform, even if it's just a June summer scrimmage. Medlock is a true freshman, and Glenn suffered a knee injury in June 2025 that kept him out of both the Moneyball Pro-Am and the entire '25-26 campaign after he had transferred in from Florida Atlantic.
Glenn is set to either be a starter or be one of the first players off the bench this coming season. Medlock will be Fears' backup, but could provide a major upgrade in that role compared to the situation last season.
Why Medlock Is Crucial
"What happens when Fears is off the court?" was an issue for the Spartans for pretty much the entirety of the '25-26 season. The difference in the quality of play when Fears was on the court compared to when he was on the bench was canyon-sized.
This was especially an issue when Divine Ugochukwu went down with a foot injury. Problems were already appearing when Ugochukwu was moved over to make up for some shooting guard woes, but his injury meant only Fears and Denham Wojcik could realistically play point guard for Michigan State.
Fears wound up averaging 35.2 minutes per game across the final 12 games of the year with Ugochukwu out, never playing fewer than 32 minutes in a game (twice, both being in lopsided results in a loss to Wisconsin and a win against North Dakota State). MSU essentially had all its eggs in the Fears' basket.
Neither Ugochukwu nor Wojcik was a tremendous offensive weapon. Ugochukwu was eighth in points per game (5.1), and a decent chunk of that was open catch-and-shoot threes, which is more of a shooting guard than a point guard. Wojcik made six field goals all season.
Medlock coming in as the No. 5 point guard in the class of 2026, according to the 247Sports Composite, should fix that. Michigan State needs an offensive-minded guard who can continue the flow of the offense when Fears sits.
Lengthy scoring droughts were common in MSU's most important losses last season. Adding a score-first guy will help minimize the chances of allowing, say, a 25-4 run against UConn or a 17-0 run against Auburn.
Why Glenn Is Crucial
Glenn might have been one of the other pieces MSU was dearly missing last season. He's probably the most versatile wing the Spartans have on the offensive end. Glenn can score from all three levels and has pretty good ball-handling skills for somebody who swings between small forward and power forward.
This is similar reasoning to what was discussed about Medlock above. Michigan State needs more offense to reach national title contender status. The last 10 national champions have finished no worse than ninth in offensive rating on KenPom. MSU finished in that range twice during that span, finishing second in 2015-16 (upset by MTSU in the first round) and fifth in 2018-19 (reached the Final Four).
MSU hasn't finished better than 23rd (last season) in the last six seasons, though. The Spartans have been good enough on the defensive end recently, but the offense has fallen short. Glenn's advanced numbers on the defensive end haven't been great, but he's had plenty of time to improve on that end. He was well enough to help out on Michigan State's scout team later this past spring, which also helps.
Glenn is still someone who has proven he can put the ball in the hoop, averaging 12.6 points per game during his '24-25 season at FAU. That was with a 41.0% mark from three and an efficient 61.3% mark from inside the arc.
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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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