Last Year
Not too shabby at all. Early wins over Kentucky and Arkansas showed a good season was on the horizon, and conference play saw them go 15-5 and tied for second with Illinois and Nebraska. An overall record of 27-8 was good for a three seed in the tourney where they beat North Dakota State and Louisville before getting clipped by UConn in the Sweet Sixteen.
Happy Trails
- Jaxon Kohler is trying his fifth year eligibility luck with BYU
- Carson Cooper appears to have accepted his time is over
- Divine Ugochukwu portaled his way to LSU
- Trey Fort and Denham Wojcik were also claimed by the eligibility goblin
Starters
- PG Jeremy Fears, 6'2'' Senior: Guard your groins, for Jeremy Fears is riding again. When not attacking groins, he had some eye popping assist numbers and was great attacking the basket and getting to the line. He could stand to improve his shooting numbers if he wants more NBA attention, but Sparty has some Expectations this year, and Fears is the catalyst.
- SG Kur Teng, 6'4'' Junior: Kur Teng the Curtain broke into the rotation and showed off some of the shooting he was known for. He somehow shot better from three than he did from two.
- SF Coen Carr, 6'6'' Senior: Carr did enough last season to merit calling him something other than a great dunker. He was efficient near the basket and was a good defender. Supposedly he may get more opportunities to shoot from more than four feet away. We'll see, but he is still a great dunker.
- PF Jordan Scott, 6'8'' Sophomore: Scott became a mainstay in the rotation last year as a freshman. While Carr's outside shooting was rough, Scott shot a solid 37%. When you have as good a passer as Fears running the show, anyone who can make open shots will get the opportunity.
- C Anton Bonke, 7'2'' Senior: Oh hell yeah. Please baby Jesus make Charlotte transfer good, because I can't wait to yell BONK every time he does anything at all. Rebound? BONK. Score? BONK. Block a shot, BONK BONK. Settle in kids, it's BONKING TIME.
Bench
- SF Kaleb Glenn, 6'6'' Junior: Glenn was brought in from FAU a year ago, but tore his patellar tendon and missed the season. He is known for being a solid shooter.
- PF Cam Ward, 6'9'' Sophomore: Ward was good for cleaning up everything inside as a freshman. He's an excellent rebounder and was comfortable near the basket, so he should earn a ton of playing time and may start. Just please don't let him start over BONK.
- PF Jesse McCullough, 6'10'' Senior: McCullough didn't play much last year as a freshman, but he remains tall and he did throw in a few threes.
- Four freshman, all four stars in guards Jasiah Jervis and Carlos Medlock, forward Julius Avent, and center Ethan Taylor
Outlook
MaximumSam: Let's see, Tom Izzo has a decorated senior guard and and an array of other solid contributors. Is it 2019 again? Can Fears cosplay as Cassius Winston? Can Cam Ward develop into Xavier Tillman? Can BONK come on the court and BONK everyone? BONK.
glass: Remember way back when, like 3 years ago, when Sparty fans thought the game had passed Tom Izzo by and wanted him forced into retirement? Welp, he's going to be there until he keels over in his office and you should all be grateful for every second he is all that is holding your program from being pulled into the crab bucket. And because everything is backward and horrible, Sparty's incredulity and unbelief has of course been rewarded with the NOPY front runner and a team capable of hanging another banner in Breslin. There are 25 wins in this team, minimum.
BoilerUp89: Fears will be good, Carr will make the highlight plays, and MSU is going to win a lot of games. How high the ceiling is depends on Bonke. Bonke was good at Charlotte last year but didn't play at Providence the season before and has really struggled during exhibition season to the point that it now looks like Ethan Taylor may take over the starting center role. Taylor is a good recruit but relying on a true freshman to hold down the fort in the post against grown men isn't a national championship recipe unless they are a five star. Taylor is good, but he's not one and done good. Need to see more from Bonke if MSU is going to do more than compete in the Big Ten.
