EAST LANSING — Everything Tom Izzo did to rebuild Michigan State basketball during an offseason of turnover was calculated.
Need shooting? Add Trey Fort.
Need a backup point guard? Bring in Divine Ugochukwu and Denham Wojcik.
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Need size? Pick up Kaleb Glenn (although he was injured in June and will miss the season).
All functional, but not flashy, moves. They all, though, serve a singular purpose: Provide support for the Spartans’ core four.
Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler, right, and Coen Carr celebrate during a Niagara timeout during the second half on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
Izzo decided to stick with the four primary returning pieces from last year’s team that went 30-7, won the Big Ten regular-season title by three games and advanced to the Elite Eight. That puts the onus on feisty point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., electric wing Coen Carr, sturdy Jaxon Kohler and steady Carson Cooper to replicate and build on last season’s rejuvenating run for Izzo.
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“It’s different, just coming in with a new group,” Fears said after practice Thursday, Oct. 30. “Obviously last year, we had a lot of players that kind of knew the system, knew their roles and knew what was going on. So going into this year, we don’t have a lot of guys that came back in our core, so we have to be the main focal point of everything – attack, defense, offense.
“We set the tone. And if we don’t set the tone right, it’s gonna be rough.”
Izzo’s 31st season opens Monday, Nov. 3, at Breslin Center against Colgate (7 p.m., BTN+). The 70-year-old Hall of Famer – and reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year – got a gauge for what his team can be, good and bad, in two exhibition games: a home win over Bowling Green and a road loss at No. 4 Connecticut.
But he also knows chasing more championships will come down to the his four captains.
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“Sometimes you have four captains because nobody’s a good captain.” Izzo said when practice began last month. “We have four captains that were picked by the team, and they were all almost unanimous picks, because I think they believe in each one of those guys in a different way. … We got four guys that have experience, four guys that have all started some. I think each one of them has to perform at a higher level.
“And if they do, we’ll be a better basketball team; if they don’t, the coach didn’t do his job.”
MSU lost multiple key players from last year’s team that pulled Izzo into a tie with Bob Knight with 11 Big Ten regular-season titles – with a three-game edge. Along with Jase Richardson’s one-and-done NBA decision, the biggest losses to transfer came with versatile and emotion-fueled guard Tre Holloman leaving for North Carolina State and high-upside big man Xavier Booker staying in conference at UCLA. The Spartans also graduated defensive dynamo Jaden Akins, along with Frankie Fidler and Szymon Zapala, and lost its top three scorers from a year ago in Akins (12.8 points per game), Richardson (12.1) and Holloman (9.1).
Izzo added the four transfers: veteran shooting guard Fort, combo guard Ugochukwu, plus Wojcik and Glenn. He also is bullish on freshman additions Cam Ward (in the post) and Jordan Scott (on the wing).
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But retaining Carr, Cooper, Fears and Kohler – along with bringing back second-year players Kur Teng and Jesse McCulloch – was the priority for Izzo to build around in the new world of portal and NIL roster remaking. And it starts with the starters who played pivotal roles last season and who Izzo made the team’s four captains.
Michigan State center Carson Cooper (15), left, and guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) defend New Mexico guard Donovan Dent (2) during the first half of the Second Round of NCAA tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday, March 23, 2025.
“Our first few years were a little slow. We won games, but it wasn’t to the Michigan State standard level of winning games,” Cooper said. “So we finally saw a glimpse of that last year, where we’re winning enough games and we’re winning the Michigan State-standard way. And seeing how that actually looks like, for me, it’s being able to use that experience as confidence for myself and confidence to help teach other guys.”
Carr, a 6-foot-6 junior wing, averaged 8.1 points with 3.6 rebounds along with his dazzling array of dunks, though Izzo wants him to develop more from the perimeter and in attacking the basket off the dribble – and emerge as a leader.
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“Last year’s team, it was probably the most chemistry I’ve had with a team in my life,” Carr said. “Just the togetherness we had, it brought us a long way. And then the grit we had, we definitely gritted out a lot of games, a lot of tough games. We made free throws.
“I just feel like this team is a better shot-making team. I feel like we’re gonna shoot better, I think we’ll rebound and defend. I feel like we’re more athletic. I just feel like this team can be overall better, we just gotta put it together.”
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Kohler, a 6-9 senior, flashed a developing outside and midrange game late last season and averaged a team-high 7.5 rebounds with 7.8 points. Fears, a 6-2 redshirt sophomore, posted 7.2 points and 5.4 assists per game while playing all but one game after he was shot and missed most of his freshman season in 2023-24.
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Cooper, a defensively sound senior post player with 6-11 size, averaged 5.0 points and 5.2 rebounds last season coming off the bench.
It is a group that Izzo thinks can continue to grow with added minutes and responsibilities.
“That’s our core guys right there,” Kohler said. “You can say this – us four are the guys who’ve been through some (expletive). We’ve been through the wars of last year, and we know how to handle that pressure. We know how coach is gonna be. And I feel like we have the experience to play through that and then also lift our teammates up, the people who haven’t been through this.
“So I think it’s a big responsibility for us to not only play well in the games, but we have to make sure that we raise people up to play at our level, too.”
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Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball knows ‘Core Four’ captains key to March wins
