One of the biggest reasons this Michigan State team has people talking is the sheer number of lineup combinations Tom Izzo can throw out there.
The Spartans appear to have real depth at every spot, and in theory, the rotation could stretch all the way to 12 players. That kind of balance - and the absence of one obvious weak link - is part of why MSU believes it has a shot to be the final team standing at Ford Field next April.
A lineup wrinkle that may be unavoidable is pairing Jeremy Fears Jr. with Carlos Medlock Jr. in the backcourt. If he stays healthy, Fears is likely to again lead the team in minutes this season. He’s the face of the program and a Second Team All-American from last season, so anything under 30 minutes a night, especially once Big Ten play starts, would look like a waste.
That creates a tricky path for Medlock. There simply may not be many point guard minutes waiting for him, but early signs suggest he’s not the kind of player who should be stuck at 10 minutes a game. Izzo may have to get inventive to carve out the role Medlock deserves.
The cleanest answer would be to use a two-point guard setup for short stretches. Fears could run the offense as usual, while Medlock shifts more toward shooting guard and adds some off-ball movement. That kind of look could also help Michigan State go small when it wants to push tempo or when the matchup calls for it.
The Spartans also could experiment with Cam Ward at center in those smaller lineups. Last season, he was almost exclusively a power forward, but at 6'9", he has enough size to handle some minutes at the five.
Ward’s sophomore leap could end up being a major swing factor for Michigan State. He brought effort and toughness every time he got on the floor last season, and while he’s still not the most polished player, those intangibles made him a real part of the rotation.
Interior defense is one area where the Spartans could be vulnerable on paper. They do have 7'2" Anton Bonke and 7'1" Ethan Taylor, but neither is known as a finished product as a rim protector, though Bonke has apparently added some bulk this offseason.
Ward, though, gives MSU a credible defensive option at center, especially against teams without a true tall post presence. His defensive rating of 100.7, according to CBB Reference, was the best among returning Spartans and ranked only behind co-centers Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper last season.
The boldest look of all might be sliding Taylor to power forward and letting Bonke anchor the middle. Michigan State used twin bigs in its starting five all last season, but a Taylor-Bonke frontcourt would take that idea even further. The obvious question is spacing, although Bonke’s shooting touch gives the Spartans a chance to make it work.
That kind of lineup would likely require a smaller backcourt too. A group like Fears, Jordan Scott, Kaleb Glenn, Taylor and Bonke would give Izzo a ton of size and four players who can shoot from the perimeter.
It would also be a massive lineup by any standard. The question would be how Taylor handles smaller, quicker players, especially if they can drag him away from the basket, though athleticism is one of his strengths.
Taylor is still more of a raw prospect, but size and athleticism are the kinds of traits that can’t be coached, and they’re a big part of why he arrives at Michigan State as a high-4-star prospect.
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Carlos Medlock Jr., though, arrives with a different kind of path. He does not have the obvious built-in pairing that the rest of the class seems to enjoy, which makes his early development a little more individual in nature, and the Spartans will likely lean on the example set by veteran guard Jeremy Fears Jr. as Medlock settles in and finds his role. [Read more 🡒]