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Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large:
Michigan State
Last year’s finish: 30-7, 17-3 Big Ten (First)
Notable losses: Jaden Akins; Jase Richardson; Tre Holloman; Frankie Fidler; Xavier Booker; Szymon Zapala
Players returning: Jaxon Kohler, Sr., F; Jeremy Fears Jr., R-So.; Kur Teng, So., G; Carson Cooper, Sr., C; Coen Carr, Jr., F
Key additions: Trey Fort, Sr., G; Kaleb Glenn, Jr., F; Jordan Scott, Fr., F; Cam Ward, Fr., F
One extended thought: Continuity has been Michigan State’s biggest strength in the transfer portal era. It’s a big reason why last year’s team, even though it was not necessarily the most talented in the Big Ten, still won another conference title for Tom Izzo. The return of Fears, Carr, Kohler and Cooper give the Spartans some measure of said continuity, but the fact their top three scorers from last season are all gone to graduation (Akins), the NBA (Richardson) and the portal (Holloman) can’t be ignored.
Izzo and Co. are banking on the two transfers added in the offseason — Fort (UT Martin/Mississippi State/Samford) and Glenn (Louisville/Florida Atlantic) — filling some of that void. Like Fort becoming the type of scorer Akins was even if it won’t come with the same defensive prowess. A huge jump in production from Carr, an incredible athlete, wouldn’t hurt either. Should his production match his prodigious athleticism, he’d be an All-Big Ten caliber player.