Tom Izzo has had a long history of developing players from raw athletes to elite performers and All-American candidates. His latest project, Coen Carr, is even drawing some recognition from NBA Hall of Famer and Spartan legend Magic Johnson.
Magic spoke to WLNS sports director Ian Kress this week about Michigan State and the topic of Carr's game came up.
The Spartan legend gushed over Carr's athleticism, saying that he's the best athlete in the country and he even went as far as saying that he's a better athlete than most NBA players.
That wasn't even the best quote from the interview.
When talking about his overall game, Magic said that Carr is a 15-foot jumper away from potentially being the best player in college basketball. No, that's not a typo.
"There's no better athlete in the country."
— Ian Kress (@ian_kress) August 5, 2025
Talked with Magic Johnson on Monday and he is very high on MSU basketball standout Coen Carr.
He loves the growth of Carr's game and shared why this upcoming season could be Carr's breakout campaign. pic.twitter.com/fDPNZeriZj
"If he gets that 15-foot jump shot down, he could be the best player in the nation," Magic said.
Magic also said that he's big and strong and that he "has everything" and he'll be an "unstoppable force" if he can get that jumper down. This is some major praise from one of the best players to ever pick up a basketball. Hearing that has to make Carr grin ear-to-ear, but he also has to take this as some advice: work on that jumper.
And it's not like he hasn't already been doing that. Clips from Moneyball and even summer workouts have shown Carr looking more comfortable with his jumper and if he can carry that over into his junior year, he could legitimately be one of the best players in the nation.
Magic knows all about what it takes to be the best player in the country and he's seen plenty of elite talent, so if he's saying this about Carr, we should probably put some stock into it.