Michigan State’s trip to Big Ten Media Day will put three of the program’s biggest names front and center: Tom Izzo, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr.
Izzo is set to speak first, with Fears and Carr following about two hours later. Each will get 30 minutes with the media, giving reporters their first extended look at two players who will shape the Spartans’ season.
The spotlight on Fears is already intense. He enters the year as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year and is being mentioned as a leading Wooden Award favorite. Around college basketball, he’s being talked about like one of the sport’s elite guards, and for Michigan State, that kind of national attention hasn’t surrounded a point guard since Mateen Cleaves.
Carr brings a different kind of buzz. He’s the high-flying finisher who has built a reputation as one of the best dunkers in college basketball, but the conversation around him now is bigger than the highlights. The question is whether his jumper has taken a real step forward.
Last season, Carr shot 51.8% from the field while starting all 35 games, down from the 60% clip he posted across his first two seasons. That dip became part of the scouting report, with opponents happy to give him room on the perimeter and dare him to shoot. If he can punish that kind of defense, his NBA stock could rise fast.
The Spartans enter the season with a familiar core, even with one transfer and four top-75 freshmen in the mix. The backbone still runs through veterans like sophomore Jordan Scott, Fears, sophomore Cam Ward, senior transfer Anton Bonke and Carr.
For Izzo, Thursday’s appearance also marks another milestone: he’s preparing to lead Michigan State into his 31st consecutive season. At this point, there’s no sign he’s easing up.
And with Izzo, Fears and Carr on the stage, the room figures to be full.
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