MSU Basketball Mid-Season Report Card

I don’t talk much about the teams that I’m actually a fan of on here. However, much to my surprise, my Michigan State Spartans look like a FInal Four contender this year. Thus, I figured it was worth taking a stab at creating a mid-season report card for each player and the team as a whole.

First, a word on my scoring system. Instead of a traditional score (A, B, C, D etc.), I’m using a numerical scoring system. A 3 means someone has performed in-line with my expectations, a 2 means they’ve performed significantly better, and a 4 means they’ve performed significantly worse. 1 is the best possible score but is quite rare, 5 is the worst possible score and is also quite rare.

Overall Team Score: 2

We’re nearly halfway through Big Ten play, and the Spartans are on track for a 2 seed. They got a 2 seed last year, but I expected this year’s team to be worse with Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins off to the NBA. I have been pleasantly surprised by the 18-2 start, and any reasonable fan would agree with me. Most computer systems had us in the 20s in the preseason.

The team is built on the boards. We get an offensive rebound on 39% of our missed shots (8th in the nation) and get a defensive rebound on 78% of our opponent’s missed shots (1st in the nation). We’re not a great shooting team, but we attempt far more shots than our opponents because we dominate on the glass.

I considered a 1.5 for the overall team score, but our lack of perimeter shooting limits the team’s upside.

Jeremy Fears Jr.: 1.5

It goes without saying that Fears has been the best player on the team and the biggest reason for our outperformance. He’s not the best point guard we’ve had in the last twenty years (that’s Cassius Winston), but he is the best pure passer. Not only are his assist numbers off the charts, but the way he runs the fast break is unmatched. The team has dominated in transition all year and it’s because of his court vision.

I see upside in his shot. He has been excellent from the free throw line (89% this year on decent volume), it’s a bit weird he’s only shooting 29% from 3 given how consistent he is at the stripe. He has gotten more comfortable pulling up from mid range when defenses sag off him, he’s 18/32 from mid range since the new year. If he starts shooting like Tyson Walker or Cassius Winston did, watch out.

Coen Carr: 3.5

This might be a controversial score. Coen Carr has certainly been good this year, but I expected more. The highlights are obvious- he can jump out of the building and is the best dunker I’ve ever seen in green and white. He also plays bigger than his size and is a good rebounder. 

However, the downsides are pretty bad. He’s 50/87 (58%) from the stripe, 12/40 (30%) from midrange and 11/41 (27%) from 3. All of these numbers are worse than last year. It pains me to say, but he’s a liability in the half court offense.

If he can develop a shot, he has a long NBA career ahead of him. He’s still a good college player even if he never learns to shoot. The good news is that shooting is easier to teach than a 51 inch vertical.

Jaxon Kohler: 1.5

Izzo has bucked the trend by developing high school players instead of building through the portal. Jaxon Kohler is the most recent success story of that model. He was a mediocre rotation player for his first two years in East Lansing and has blossomed into an excellent power forward. He is a monster on the offensive glass.

If you look at the list of D1 players with the most offensive rebounders, Kohler sticks out like a sore thumb. Most of the guys on that list have taken fewer than 10 3s this year. Kohler has taken 73, and made 47% of them. There’s just not another player like him in college basketball.

Carson Cooper: 2

Cooper is the other developmental success Izzo can hang his hat on. He’s always been good on the glass, but he has added the 8 to 10 foot range to his game this year. He also runs the floor better than pretty much any 6’11” player you’ll see, and gets a ton of dunks and layups in transition as a result. This has been a very solid senior year for Cooper.

Kur Teng: 3

Teng played very limited minutes last year as a freshman, despite a decent recruiting pedigree. His development is on course with my expectations- he is a good perimeter shooter, probably the best we have. However, there’s nothing in his game beyond the 3 point shot. That’s not a problem this year, we just need him to play 15 minutes a game or so at the 2 guard. The next step in his game will be getting to the rim.

Divine Ugochukwu: 2.5

I need to eat my words on Ugochukwu. I was very skeptical when Izzo signed him out of the portal. Early in the season, I was calling for him to be removed from the rotation. He is not as good a shooter as Teng, but he has more to his game in terms of getting downhill. I expect the 2 guard to be a clean timeshare between him and Teng for the rest of the season.

Jordan Scott: 2

Scott is still a freshman, but the sky is the limit for his development in the next few years. He has the bones of an NBA skillset- is a decent offensive rebounder, a decent shooter and has good length. If those skills continue to develop, I would be surprised if he ends up spending 4 years in college. He also hustles his ass off, he seems to be on every single loose ball. I’m quite happy with what I see from him in year one.

Cam Ward: 2.5

Izzo seems to like to play his two main freshmen (Scott and Ward) together. I don’t mind, as they are pretty different players despite being similar heights- Scott is a wing, and Ward is a 4. He is fantastic on the offensive glass and is getting back in the rhythm of things after injuring his wrist several weeks ago. I am a bit worried by what I see at the free throw line, but the sample size is admittedly small.

Trey Fort: 4

I expected more from Fort this year. The team’s biggest weakness is the lack of outside shooting, and we brought in two transfers to try to fix that. Kaleb Glenn has been out for the year with an injury, and Fort has regressed from a 38% shooter at Samford last year (on good volume, too) to a 30% shooter this year. Of all the options we have at the 2 guard, he’s also the least athletic and the worst defender.

Jesse McCulloch: 2.5

McCulloch is an intriguing project. The freshman hasn’t played much, but when he has, he’s been a solid backup big. We’re so blessed with Cooper and Kohler that we haven’t asked very much of McCulloch, but when we have, he’s delivered. The sample size is small, but he also looks like a good shooter for 6’10”.

Denham Wojcik: 4.5

Wojcik is a transfer from Harvard and the son of assistant coach Doug Wojcik. He was not a particularly interesting Ivy League player at Harvard and I am pretty surprised he is still in the rotation. The offense looks stuck in the mud when he is at PG. Wojcik only plays when Fears needs a breather, but I’d rather Ugochukwu get those minutes. Ugochukwu was a pure PG last year at Miami and can handle the point OK.