Why Player-Led Leadership Key for MSU Hoops at Rutgers
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Sometimes, the most important coaches aren't actually coaches.
No. 7 Michigan State has a lot of good things going for it right now. The Spartans are 18-2 overall with an 8-1 Big Ten record. There's noise about possibly winning back-to-back Big Ten titles, they're projected to be a 2 seed in March, etc. It's critical for MSU's players --- who, let's face it, are likely on social media like many Gen Zers and seeing this hype --- to try and drown it out.
This is why player-led leadership is important. Tom Izzo telling these guys to stay focused is just an average Tuesday. It's not a particularly unique moment. When one of your teammates tells you to do so, that sticks out a lot more because it's rarer, and that person is a peer who has shared the court with you.
The Spartans are perhaps feeling fine after a 43-point blowout of Maryland on Saturday, which is the second-largest Big Ten victory for Michigan State ever. Any sort of thinking, though, that little ol' Rutgers (9-11 overall, 2-7 Big Ten) on Tuesday night will be an easy win before the heavyweight bout against No. 3 Michigan on Friday (the "elephant in the room," as Izzo called it) needs to be avoided. Izzo seemed confident about that on Monday.
Izzo's Thoughts
"I guess in this game, I'm more worried about how we play, how we act, how we practice to get ready for this game, whether we live on one great performance on Saturday, or whether we realize there's the big picture," Izzo said on Monday. "It better be the big picture. And I think our captains have done a great job of that so far."
MSU actually has four different captains this season that kind of are the "Core Four" members of the team: Jeremy Fears Jr., Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper, and Coen Carr. All four of them average 10+ points per game and have accounted for 61.4% of the team's scoring this season.
Izzo is banking on those players to help lead the others the rest of the way, though. Michigan State is about to enter its back third of the regular season, but its final 10 games include two matchups with Michigan, a game with Illinois, a road game at Purdue, a trip to Wisconsin, and a road game at Indiana. It's daunting, but last year's team did end the regular season with seven consecutive Quad 1 victories to earn the conference crown.
"I'm one of the fortunate coaches in this league who has players who have been through that [a Big Ten title]," Izzo said. "Some have 10 new players. That, I think, has been an advantage for me and for us. But still, the outside noise and everybody telling everybody how good they are, it's good that I make sure I tell them they're not that good sometimes."
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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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