The first night of Moneyball is in the books and I’ve already been shuffling through the highlights from Loomin_Knotty (who does a great job sharing clips, by the way) all over Twitter, looking for positive takeaways from Michigan State players.
Fortunately, the positive takeaways weren’t difficult to find.
Jasiah Jervis was the first highlight reel I watched and I came away more impressed with his slashing ability than originally anticipated. He’s confident, doesn’t mind shooting with a hand in his face, and can also put the ball on the floor and create his own shots. That’s something that was missing last season at the two guard spot — at least consistently.
I then stumbled across Anton Bonke highlights and he, too, may have a deeper bag than I originally gave him credit for. He’s not an insane athlete, but he moves really well for 7-foot-2 and he’s aggressive around the rim. If he has any sort of touch this season, I think Michigan State’s frontcourt will be in great shape.
Anton Bonke on Moneyball’s opening night @iamMoneyball pic.twitter.com/fDM5Uwc2yM
— Loomin Kn🏀tty (@Loomin_Knotty) June 24, 2026
Those aren’t the most outrageous highlights that you’ll ever see, but there were some positives to take away from the short clip.
For one, he moves really well on the defensive end against smaller ball-handlers and seemingly isn’t too jumpy at pump fakes or jab-steps. He has serious shot-blocking abilities and he’s also going to be effective on the glass on the offensive end. Michigan State should have plenty of second-chance opportunities when he’s on the floor.
Bonke is still getting comfortable so the highlights right now are pretty modest, but he’s flashing some potential on both ends of the floor.
Michigan State’s frontcourt is beaming with potential
The difference between this season’s projected frontcourt and last season’s is only experience. The potential of last year’s was high and I think this year’s could be even higher.
Bonke is an intriguing big who can stretch the floor, can run the pick-and-roll, and has elite length that will cause problems on the defensive end. Behind him is Ethan Taylor, a borderline five-star center from Link Academy, who just represented Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup down in Mexico. Then there’s Jesse McCulloch who could be the third center or a power forward option and he, too, can stretch the floor. McCulloch’s offensive bag is better than people think.
At power forward, we could see a little of Kaleb Glenn or Coen Carr given different circumstances and lineups, but we’ll also see Cam Ward grow as a sophomore big man. He’s my favorite to break out in the post this season. Julius Avent is also an option as an underrated — yet still top-80 — freshman.
Michigan State’s frontcourt might surprise some people this year.
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