EAST LANSING - Jesse McCulloch’s first exhibition start for Michigan State didn’t look like a courtesy gesture from Tom Izzo. It looked like a coach putting the best available option on the floor.
With Cam Ward sidelined, McCulloch got the nod at power forward against Incarnate Word and delivered the kind of night that changes how people talk about a player. He scored 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting, grabbed five offensive rebounds and did it while showing a fuller offensive package than most had seen from him before. For a player who had never scored in double figures at MSU and had never attempted more than six shots in a game, it was a serious reveal.
“I know every night may not be like that night,” McCulloch said last week, “but me doing my job is the biggest part for the team to win, and that's that's my goal every night, to do my job and help other people do their job.”
That job, as McCulloch sees it, starts with his jumper. MSU wants him stretching defenses as a pick-and-pop big, but the exhibition also showed more than a catch-and-shoot weapon.
He made plays off the bounce and even flashed a feel for passing, including a no-look feed from the post to a cutting Jordan Scott. The comfort level was obvious to the people around the program, even if the rest of the outside world was still catching up.
The next exhibition, Tuesday night against visiting Connecticut at 7 p.m. on Big Ten-plus, should tell more about where McCulloch really is. But the opener already offered a reminder that a player’s first version isn’t always the final one. McCulloch is the last player to redshirt for development in MSU’s program now that five years of eligibility has arrived, and he’s trying to follow a path that has worked well before in East Lansing.
That path runs through Carson Cooper, the program’s latest development success story and now a member of the Memphis Grizzlies’ opening night roster. McCulloch watched Cooper’s rise closely and wanted to mirror it. Cooper came in as an unheralded recruit and grew into a reliable rim runner and ball-screen defender with enough offensive improvement to make himself indispensable.
McCulloch has tried to borrow from that formula. Last season, after redshirting as a true freshman, he stayed on campus and kept working even after the season ended, though injury kept him from playing. This year, he again remained with the staff instead of going home to Cleveland right away.
“I love home, but there’s not really too much to do at all,” McCulloch said.
He spent the extra time working with assistant coach Saddi Washington and strength coach Lorenzo Guess, building his body and sharpening his game. McCulloch says he can already feel the difference in how he moves and how much better he can hold his ground defensively.
“I witnessed Coop doing it the summer before, and I saw the leap he made from his junior to senior year,” McCulloch said. “So that was in my head, and I want to do that same thing. I want to make that big leap.”
Cooper noticed, too.
“We were trying to tell y’all about Jesse,” Cooper posted on X, the day after the game.
Ward also made clear that what McCulloch showed wasn’t a surprise so much as a chance finally opening up. He pointed to the players who had been ahead of him and to the shooting numbers that hinted at what McCulloch could already do.
“We just had two guys in front of him as far as Jackson and Coop,” Ward said. “I mean, if you look at his stats last year, he shot 50% for 3 (9-for-18).
Like that wasn't nothing. He shot good from the line (13-for-14).
… I mean, Jesse can shoot the cover off the ball. Jesse being that pick-and-pop guy for us is definitely valuable because that's what he can do best.”
Izzo’s view was similar. The coach said the shot is McCulloch’s biggest strength, and he made it clear the big man has been showing that consistently.
“His strength is he can shoot the ball,” Izzo said. “He’s been incredibly good.”
There’s more in McCulloch’s game than shooting, though the shooting matters most for this roster. MSU needs a big who can pull defenders away from the paint, and McCulloch gives it that. He can play both power forward and center, with center likely coming more often depending on matchups and what the other bigs are doing.
Some of that growth, McCulloch said, came from the hours he spent on scout team over the last two seasons, learning how to prepare and how to mimic the opponents’ big men. He said he enjoyed taking on the roles of Michigan’s Danny Wolf and Ole Miss’ Malik Dea. His favorite assignment, though, was Bowling Green’s Marcus Johnson.
‘Because he was the 5 man and he played like a point guard,” McCulloch said.
“You’ve got to pretend you’re someone you’re not,” McCulloch said. “With (Minnesota’s) Dawson Garcia, I had to play with my left hand. It really helped me figure out what I can and cannot do.”
Now, the scouting reports are likely to flip. McCulloch is the one opponents will prepare for, and that start against Incarnate Word will end up in the film cutups other teams use against him.
“It was definitely an opportunity for me to prove to everyone the work I have done throughout the summer,” McCulloch said.
In Other News...
Michigan States Early UConn Test Comes With One Big Unknown
An early-season exhibition in East Lansing will give Michigan State and UConn a useful first look at where their rosters stand before the games start counting. It is the kind of tune-up both programs can use, especially with a matchup that brings real attention and a chance to test lineups, rotations and pace against a high-level opponent.
Braylon Mullins is the biggest unknown on the UConn side. The guard sat out the Huskies' previous exhibition because of an undisclosed injury, and his status for this one has not been confirmed, leaving one more question hanging over a game that should offer both teams a valuable evaluation point before the regular season begins. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Is Changing Its Routine For A Huge UCLA Test
Michigan States trip to the Rose Bowl comes with a little extra weight, not just because of the opponent but because of the setting. The Spartans will face UCLA there in a regular-season game for the first time since 2013, and head coach Pat Fitzgerald has already laid out how the team is adjusting its travel and preparation routine for a matchup that feels bigger than a standard road game.
UCLA brings plenty of challenge into the meeting as well, entering unbeaten and ranked No. 9 under first-year coach Bob Chesney. For Michigan State, the backdrop matters, but so does the assignment in front of it, and the Spartans are treating the venue and the opponent as part of the same test. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Just Earned A Historic Honor Michigan Never Got
Michigan States place on Sports Illustrateds all-time college football list is a reminder that the 1966 team still carries unusual weight in the sports memory. The Spartans landed at No. 20 among the 25 greatest teams ever, with the ranking pointing to an undefeated Big Ten run and the programs role in helping integrate college football at a time when the game was changing on and off the field.
What makes the honor stand out even more is who did not make the cut. Michigan, despite its national titles and undefeated seasons, was left off the list entirely, while the ranking leaned heavily toward more recent teams and included only a handful from before 1950. For Michigan State, it is a rare kind of recognition that reaches beyond wins and losses and into the broader story of the sport. [Read more 🡒]