Michigan State Basketball: Projected starting 5 post-Max Christie decision

I had a tough time making a decision here. Would I go with the young phenom in Jaxon Kohler who some believe is going to be a star right away or would I choose the potential defense-first third-year player who hasn’t quite gotten run yet but a big summer could propel him to big things?

In the end, I decided to project Kohler as the starting five because I think he’s going to be so versatile on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, he could use some work.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Mady Sissoko is going to take a leap this offseason and be playable for maybe 15-20 minutes per game, but he’s still so raw and that was why we didn’t see much of him in 2021-22. Either way, Michigan State will have a brand new look at center and it’s going to be both scary and refreshing.

Kohler can score in a variety of ways, inside and out, and I can see him being a Freshman All-Big Ten selection and potentially averaging close to a double-double right away — Michigan State will need that from him.

The one problem at this position is the lack of depth. If either Kohler or Sissoko are injured at all, Michigan State will be forced to run Joey Hauser out there and that will cause problems.

Not a terrible outlook at center, but still some major question marks and little depth.