Michigan State fans have gotten a little too caught up in the Jeremy Fears Jr. NBA draft discourse that they have seemingly forgotten that there are two other Spartans going through the process.
Fears has been the topic on everyone’s minds over the past couple of weeks with his breakout performance at the NBA Combine, but Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper have been a little too overlooked throughout the draft process for my liking.
Cooper has been one of the guys that fans have been lobbying for to return so that may be why no one has really brought up his draft prospects, but Kohler deserves way more attention than he’s been getting from both Michigan State fans and NBA teams.
Well, he’s reportedly getting at least a little love from one NBA team.
According to HoopsHype, the Michigan State big man has locked in a workout with the Memphis Grizzlies. They were also one of the first sources to report that Fears had workouts with both the Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Wizards.
Memphis would actually be a really good landing spot for Kohler. He’d get to team up with former Big Ten foe Zach Edey who’s the Grizzlies’ starting center.
It’s also a familiar stomping ground for other Spartans in the NBA.
Memphis is no stranger to Michigan State bigs
Memphis has been known to feature Michigan State big men over the years and two of them actually became superstars in their own right.
The first was Zach Randolph who was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers but made his way to Memphis halfway through his impressive career. There, he averaged between 15-20 points and 10-plus rebounds almost every season. He was one of the best and most consistent bigs in the NBA for a while and Grizzlies fans fell in love with him.
Then Memphis drafted Jaren Jackson Jr. in 2018 and then Xavier Tillman two years later. Jaren had the better career with the Grizzlies before being dealt to the Utah Jazz this season and Tillman had his moments but never really played enough to make a huge impact.
Kohler would be a great addition to Memphis’ roster which needs help pretty much everywhere after dealing Jackson Jr. this season and finishing 25-57.
The Michigan State big man has locked in his first workout with an organization that’s familiar with Tom Izzo and his players. This is a great scenario for him.
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