Coen Carr is having himself quite the summer. The talented forward is preparing for his fourth — and likely final — season at Michigan State where the expectations for the team are going to be sky-high, but his own personal goals are also lofty.
As they should be.
Carr is expected to have a huge season for the Spartans and that’s likely due to the fact that he’s been in Tom Izzo’s system for four years and he’s been working hard on adding a consistent jumper.
So far this summer, he’s been putting in serious work and it’s showing already. He’s added a pull-up jumper to his bag and he’s also a lot quicker in his release. Not only that, but he’s been crushing it at Moneyball as the league’s top points scorer and second overall in points per game (31.9).
And we’re seeing highlights hit social media on a daily basis. He’s either showing off that new jumper or he’s pulling off some incredibly athletic play, like posterizing Ethan Taylor.
This recent stock rise has opened some eyes, catching the attention of some prominent figures. One of those figures is former Big Ten Player of the Year Evan Turner who has also made several TV appearances as a college basketball analyst. He made a bold prediction regarding Carr for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
His summer highlights are looking good enough for me to say pre-season Big 10 Poy https://t.co/NriJsOn0XG
— Evan Turner (@thekidet) July 28, 2026
That’s right, a former Big Ten Player of the Year (2010) is tabbing Carr as his preseason Big Ten Player of the Year because of all the highlights that he’s seen of the senior forward this offseason.
That’s some high praise coming from a guy who won the award and spent about a decade in the NBA with several teams. He knows what it takes to win the award and he apparently believes that Carr has improved his all-around game so much that he’s the pick for preseason Big Ten Player of the Year.
Coen Carr over Jeremy Fears Jr?
I’m not sure if I’m buying Carr stock over Jeremy Fears for Big Ten Player of the Year, but it’s been a little while since Michigan State had two legit candidates at the same time.
The last time that happened was actually 26 years ago as Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson were both first-team All-Big Ten selections during the national title season.
Will history repeat itself?
I do believe that Carr has first-team All-Big Ten potential and Fears should be the obvious choice to headline that team this season. I still think it’s Fears over Carr for Big Ten Player of the Year, but having two players capable of winning the award shows how good Michigan State could be.
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