Why Shooting Could Become Strength for MSU Next Season
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Lack of consistent three-point shooting has been a weakness for Michigan State in each of the last two seasons.
MSU's 2024-25 team, which won the Big Ten, made only 31.1% of its threes, ranking 317th in Division I. Last year's team was much better, shooting 36.3% from deep, which was 48th nationally, but the lack of consistency from deep did the Spartans in. Michigan State only shot 4-for-16 in its Sweet 16 loss to UConn.
Returning, Incoming Production on Perimeter
Looking at the current roster, MSU is returning 160 of its 270 made three-pointers from last season, which is 59.3% of that production. Entering the program from the transfer portal is Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke, who connected on 13 threes last season at a 34.2% clip.
There is also the incoming freshman class. Three of the four newcomers can be a three-point threat right away: point guard Carlos Medlock Jr., shooting guard Jasiah Jervis, and power forward Julius Avent.
During the latest EYBL season at Link Academy, Medlock made 44.2% of his threes on the closer high school arc. Jervis made 37.8% of his threes during his high school career, according to MaxPreps, but slumped to 30.6% this season. Avent made 134 threes during his high school career, according to NJ.com, though attempts and percentages are not listed.
Other Returning Pieces
Jaxon Kohler is the biggest three-point piece hitting the door. He led the team with 58 made threes last season, shooting 38.9%. Kohler hadn't made a single three-pointer through two seasons with the program, but developed a three-point shot before his junior year and really incorporated it as a senior.
Second through fourth place are all likely to be back, though. Kur Teng was just before Kohler at 56 made threes, Jordan Scott was third at 37, and then Jeremy Fears Jr. was at 35. Teng and Scott were in the upper-30s, while Fears will need to improve his efficiency to 32.1%.
A larger role for Jesse McCulloch should be interesting as well. He made nine of his 18 three-point attempts last season. Between him and Bonke, the Spartans will have multiple stretch bigs who can help open up their spacing on the offensive end. That wasn't really the case last season with Carson Cooper not really being considered a threat from the arc.
Finally, adding Kaleb Glenn to the lineup is also huge. He missed last season due to injury after transferring in from Florida Atlantic, and it felt like MSU needed another wing shooter plenty of times. Glenn knocked down 48 threes at 41.0% during his 2024-25 season at FAU. He'll be a very useful offensive asset next season.
Overall, it's one of the more complete lineups MSU has had in a bit. There will be members in the rotation who cannot really shoot, like Cam Ward or Ethan Taylor, but there shouldn't be many lineups this season with more than one non-shooter on the court.
Fears and Coen Carr need to get their percentages up, but it feels like they are both close to breaking through. Either way, though, Michigan State has scorers and shooting options at positions 1-5. The team is also a big smaller in general, so a slight uptick in three-pointers next season wouldn't feel too surprising.
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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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