2024-25 ITH Season Preview: Michigan State Spartans

  • 09/26/2024 8:42 am in

With the start of college basketball season in early November, we’ll examine the conference as a whole and Indiana’s roster over the coming weeks.

Today, our team previews continue with Michigan State.

Previously: Penn State, Washington, Minnesota, USC, Northwestern, Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon, Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA, Illinois, Rutgers

Expectations were sky-high for Michigan State last season. The Spartans were expected to challenge Purdue for the Big Ten title and were No. 4 in the preseason Associated Press top 25 poll.

By season’s end, the Spartans had managed just a 20-15 record and a tie for sixth place in the conference standings.

It was a disappointing year based on expectations, yet Michigan State still made the NCAA tournament, won a game and finished 16th in the KenPom standings.

The Spartans won’t be picked as high in this Big Ten this season – Tom Izzo’s 30th in East Lansing – but don’t count them out in what could be a wide-open conference title race.

Michigan State graduated All-Big Ten guard Tyson Walker and Malik Hall and lost A.J. Hoggard and Mady Sissoko to the transfer portal.

Despite the losses, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this Michigan State roster in the 18-team Big Ten.

Senior wing Jaden Akins is the leading returning scorer for Michigan State. The 6-foot-4 Akins has been a trendy breakout candidate the past two seasons but has only taken small steps forward. Last season, Akins averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 28.4 minutes while shooting 36.4 percent on 3s. There should be more focus on getting Akins more looks in his final season.

The Spartans dipped into the portal for scoring help and landed Nebraska Omaha forward Frankie Fidler, a 6-foot-7 senior. Fidler averaged 20.1 points and 6.3 rebounds last season while shooting 35.6 percent on 3s. He’ll likely slide in as the starter at the four for the Spartans.

The backcourt will shift from Walker and Hoggard to redshirt freshman Jeremy Fears Jr. and junior Tre Holloman. Fears Jr. averaged 3.5 points, 3.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds last season before suffering a gunshot wound to his leg that sidelined him for the season.

Holloman, a 6-foot-2 combo guard, has come off the bench his first two seasons but is now in line for more minutes. Last season, he averaged 5.7 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 19.7 minutes and shot 42.5 percent on 3s.

A pair of freshmen, Jase Richardson and Kur Teng, will provide backcourt depth. Richardson is the son of former Michigan State star Jason Richardson. The combo guard was ranked the No. 32 player in the 247Sports Composite rankings for the 2024 class. Teng, a 6-foot-4 guard, was the No. 53 player in the 247Sports Composite and should be able to provide scoring off the bench.

The Spartans are hopeful Xavier Booker is ready for a significant leap forward. A five-star prospect in the 2023 class, Booker played just 9.2 minutes per game last season. The 6-foot-11 center can score from the perimeter and has bulked up this offseason, allowing him to be more effective in the paint against physicality. Booker reportedly added 22 pounds to his frame.

Izzo always has plenty of frontcourt depth and this roster has four other players who are 6-foot-9 or taller. Juniors Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler will likely serve as Booker’s primary backups. Cooper averaged 3.4 points and 4.4 rebounds last season in 17 minutes, while Kohler chipped in two points and two rebounds in 9.3 minutes.

Michigan State also has a 7-footer in Longwood transfer Szymon Zapala, a transfer from Longwood who averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds last season. Freshman Jesse McCulloch, a 6-foot-10 forward, was Ohio’s 2024 Mr. Basketball.

Wing depth will be provided by high-flyer Coen Carr, who could challenge for a spot in the starting lineup and Gehrig Normand, a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman. The 6-foot-5 Carr is one of the best athletes in college basketball and shot 65.1 percent last season in 11.6 minutes per game. Normand was known as a shooter out of high school and could work his way into the rotation if he can consistently knock down perimeter shots.

Bart Torvik’s preseason projections have Michigan State at No. 17 nationally, the second-highest ranking among Big Ten teams. Lindy’s Sports college basketball preview magazine and the Blue Ribbon college basketball yearbook aren’t as high on the Spartans. Both publications picked Michigan State to finish sixth in the Big Ten.

Bottom line: Michigan State should be ahead of schedule as the season begins after a 3-game, 10-day offseason trip to Spain in August. That trip afforded the Spartans plenty of practice time and an opportunity for Izzo to get a feel for his team and tinker with rotations. Guard play is a major key for Michigan State and Fears Jr. and Holloman have major shoes to fill with the departures of Walker and Hoggard.

Quotable: “I think we’re going to be more physical as a team. We have better depth and now it’s finding that go-to guy down the stretch that will be key.” – Izzo to the media on Tuesday as the Spartans tipped off the start of practice for the 2024-25 season.

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