Michigan State Basketball: Tom Izzo needs to make Marcus Carr a priority

Michigan State basketball’s season ended a little earlier than expected but Tom Izzo needs to be focused on next year’s roster and Marcus Carr.

The season is officially over and Michigan State is in full offseason mode after losing to UCLA in heartbreaking fashion on Thursday night.

Michigan State was up 14 on UCLA in the first half and then struggled in the final 20 minutes and overtime, falling 86-80. After the final buzzer sounded, Tom Izzo knew he had some work to do to ensure his Spartans aren’t facing another situation like they had in 2020-21 with a play-in game following an underwhelming season.

Sweating it out on Selection Sunday is never a good feeling.

If Izzo wants to avoid that next season, he’ll need to rely on some of his talented incoming freshmen and maybe even a transfer or two (there will likely be open spots without Aaron Henry and Joshua Langford, at least).

Izzo has already reached out to guys like John Harrar of Penn State and Tyson Walker of Northeastern, but one transfer he needs to be on the phone with as soon as possible is Marcus Carr of Minnesota who entered the portal on Friday.

Carr was one of the best guards in the Big Ten this season and was named third-team all-conference. If he played for a better team, he likely would have been a first or second-team All-Big Ten selection with his 19.4 points per game. He also averaged 4.9 assists and four rebounds. His shooting percentage of 38 was concerning, but he was relied upon heavily for a few years in Minnesota so he had to get up a lot of shots.

Izzo should be on the phone with him immediately because he needs a veteran point guard who can create and Rocket Watts would be able to slide back into his two-guard spot.

A starting five with Carr leading the way would be huge for Izzo and Co. in 2021-22.