Three takeaways from MSU basketball's win over Incarnate Word - Spartans Wire
Despite losing some big-name players like Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, there has been a lot of buzz around Michigan State basketball heading into the season as Tom Izzo continues his pursuit of his ever-elusive second championship. It helps when you have one of the best players in the country, Jeremy Fears Jr., on the roster for another season. On Friday night, the Spartans hosted Incarnate Word for an exhibition, winning by 30 points, and we got to see why this team has a lot of hype this season.
Below, we broke down our three main takeaways from a fun preseason win for the Spartans.
Let's be honest, it was tough to see beloved MSU legend Jaxon Kohler head to BYU after getting one more year of eligibility. He left on extremely good terms, and it made sense why he needed to make that move for both sides, but there were also some major question marks at the power forward position heading into the season.
Cam Ward is an electric player, but his shooting is still developing. Coen Carr seems committed to playing small forward as he continues to try to develop into an NBA player. There was an opportunity for a legitimate stretch four to emerge on this roster, and Jesse McCulloch seems poised to take that spot.
McCulloch led all scorers with 20 points on Friday. His stroke looked pure. And, I think most importantly, it seems evident that he has put in some real work on his body and athleticism. He's moving well, exploding to the rim, and ultimately just looks like a new player. It's great to see.
This summer, Tom Izzo has consistently insisted that he felt Jeremy Fears Jr. had another level he could reach on the defensive side of the ball. He has publicly challenged Fears to compete to be the Defensive Player of the Year. It looks like Fears is taking that challenge in stride. He had six steals against Incarnate Word and was all over the court on that side of the ball, pressuring Cardinals' ball handlers with tenacious, physical defense.
I'm going to give a pretty lofty comparison here, but I think when you add in this defense, Fears is starting to look like a young Chris Paul.
There has been an awful lot of hype around Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr this summer. And I get it. But don't sleep on Jordan Scott. MSU's talented sophomore already broke out as a rising player as a freshman, and he looks poised to take it to another level this year. Scott looked imposing on both sides of the ball and finished with 16 points, hitting four threes on the night.
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