Returning Players: Coen Carr, Nick Sanders, Kur Teng
Departed Players: Jaden Akins, Frankie Fidler, Gehrig Normand, Jase Richardson
Transfers In: Trey Fort, Kaleb Glenn
Recruits In: Jordan Scott
Today, we’re
going to take a look at the Spartan wingers, who we’re defining as players who will primarily see time at the 2 (shooting guard) and 3 (small forward) positions.
Junior Coen Carr has shown steady improvement in his first two seasons and is expected to lead this group from the small forward position this year. Kaleb Glenn was also expected to have a significant role but unfortunately suffered a season-ending knee injury in summer workouts. This should open up a huge opportunity for incoming freshman Jordan Scott.
Transfer Trey Fort and sophomore Kur Teng are expected to battle for the starting 2 guard position and MSU will need contributions from both players, including an ability to be a threat from the three point line, in order to have a chance at repeating as Big Ten champs this season.
Coen Carr (#55, Junior, 6’-6”, 225 lbs)
Carr came to MSU primarily as a high flying dunker but has worked incredibly hard to expand and improve his game at MSU. He’s had his share of highlight reel dunks and may be the best in the college game in this aspect. Perhaps less noticeable, at least away from East Lansing, is his improved defense and shooting.
On a few occasions last year, Carr showed the ability to knock down wide open threes. He’s likely not going to be MSU’s leader in that area this year but that’s probably not what Tom Izzo is looking for out of Carr. He needs to be able to make people pay if they leave him open behind the arc but, perhaps more importantly, he needs to continue to develop a mid-range jumper.
Magic Johnson has said there’s no better athlete in the country than Carr and that he could be the best player in the country if he adds a reliable jumper to his game. If this video clip is any indication, Carr might be well on his way.
Trey Fort (#9, Senior, 6’-4”, 200 lbs)
Fort is a well-traveled player who has been with a different program every year since entering the college ranks. Trey began his career at UT-Martin and then spent two seasons at the junior colleges in Mississippi and Texas.
He re-emerged at the D1 level for the 2023-2024 season at Mississippi State where he averaged 5 points in 11.2 minutes per game in 20 appearances. Fort moved to Samford last year where he started all 33 games and led the team in scoring at 14.6 ppg en route to second-team All Southern Conference honors.
For his career at the D1 level (64 games) Fort has averaged 9.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He’s a 43.4% career shooter, including 37.4% on three pointers.
Providing a threat from beyond the arc would be a huge help for the Spartans but Fort may have to improve his defense if he wants to see the floor. If he’s unable to gain Izzo’s trust on the defensive end then we could be seeing even more of Kur Teng this year.
Kur Teng (#2, Sophomore, 6’-4”, 190 lbs)
Teng was the first player to commit to MSU’s 2024-2025 class, coming in as a 4 star recruit and top 75 player. Kur played sparingly last year averaging just 3 minutes a game in 19 appearances but should have an opportunity for a much larger role this year.
Izzo has said that Teng may be the team’s best shooter and, after waiting patiently for his turn last year, the Spartans appear to be excited to give him an opportunity this year.
Jordan Scott (#6, Freshman, 6’-7”, 190 lbs)
Scott comes to MSU as a 4 star recruit and top 100 player from last year’s high school class. He led South Lakes High in Virginia to consecutive 6A state titles and earned back-to-back state player of the year honors. Scott averaged a double-double as a high school senior with 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Izzo has compared Scott to former one-and-done Spartan Max Christie and has said he (and fellow incoming freshman Cam Ward) is better than expected.
Scott may have initially been expected to have a smaller role this season but Glenn’s injury, and his performance in pre-season workouts, have opened the door for him to make an impact as a freshman.
Nick Sanders (#20, Senior, 5’-10”, 185 lbs)
Fan favorite Nick Sanders has seen action in 26 games in his 3 seasons at MSU. He’s scored 11 points in making 5 of 13 field goal attempts. While he’s likely to only see the floor when the outcome is certain, Sanders will contribute to MSU’s game prep with the energy and effort he brings to practice.
Kaleb Glenn (#8, Junior, 6’-7”, 220 lbs)
As stated above, MSU announced over the summer that Glenn suffered a torn patellar tendon that will cause him to miss the entire 2025-2026 season. Glenn is from Louisville, KY but played his senior season of high school at basketball powerhouse La Lumiere HS. He was ranked #73 overall in the 2023 247 composite rankings.
Glenn returned to Louisville for his first college season, playing in all 32 games, including 11 starts, for the Cardinals while averaging 3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
After one year at Louisville, Glenn transferred to Florida Atlantic for the ‘24-25 season where he led the Owls in scoring at 12.6 points per game. Glenn primarily came off the bench at FAU but still averaged over 25 minutes per game and earned second team All American Athletic Conference honors.
Izzo stated in late September that Glenn is making remarkable strides in his recovery. However, returning from an injury like this could be a 6-12 month process and it just seems incredibly unlikely that we’ll see Glenn suit up this year. It’s really too bad, for Glenn obviously, but for all Spartan fans that we’ll have to wait a year to see his on-court contributions to the Green and White.
In summary, for MSU to have a shot at repeating as Big Ten champions, some form of these things will need to happen:
- Carr continues his overall development and develops a reliable mid-range jumper.
- Fort learns the effort and execution that Izzo demands on the defensive end.
- Izzo’s reads on Teng and Scott are accurate and these two make the most of their opportunities this season.
