Coen Carr and AJ Hoggard spent little time together in East Lansing. Carr was an incoming freshman while Hoggard was entering his final year with the program, expecting a massive breakout.
Unfortunately, all didn't go as planned for Hoggard in the 2023-24 season as the Spartans fell short of expectations and he fizzled out as the "next great Michigan State point guard" like some, including myself, hoped he would become.
Carr, on the other hand, is still in East Lansing and he's entering a season in which he's expected to be one of the best players on the team and potentially an All-Big Ten candidate.
But his game has needed a lot of work and tuning up.
Carr came to Michigan State as a freak athlete who was known for dunking basically everything inside the 3-point line and he didn't have much of a jumper or ball-handling to complement his game. That remained true during his freshman season as he turned heads with his dunks and freakish athleticism, but he didn't do much else outside of catching lobs.
As a sophomore, he showed progression, even adding a 3-point shot to his game, although he only took a handful throughout the season. And his ball-handling, defense, and free throw shooting improved drastically.
All that's needed now before he turns heads in the NBA is a consistent jumper and another step forward in the ball-handling category.
Well, it looks like he's developing at a rapid pace (out of necessity) this offseason.
And his former teammate has taken notice.
Uht oh https://t.co/nWEtoNC1Ah
— wop (@ajhoggard3) June 18, 2025
For everyone who's worried about the depth taking a hit with Kaleb Glenn out for the year, this should make you feel even just slightly better.
We're in good hands with Carr, especially if these highlights are a sign of things to come.