3 takeaways from Michigan State basketball’s dominant 105-59 win over Valencia

What an improvement from Michigan State’s first game.
Michigan State v Michigan
Michigan State v Michigan / Luke Hales/GettyImages
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3. Coen Carr belongs at the four

Coen Carr was one of the more intriguing players coming into this trip. Not only because he is a walking highlight reel, but because it still seems like Izzo is trying to figure out which position suits him best.

Izzo has played Carr on the wing a lot, but I’ve never been convinced that playing a guard position is what’s best for him. Carr still doesn’t have a polished jump shot yet, and until he finds that I don’t think the three is a good spot for him.

So that leaves us with the power forward position which Carr excelled at on Sunday.

After starting the game at the three, Carr shifted to the four and immediately began to dominate the game. He scored a quick 10 points in multiple different ways. This included a huge dunk, a midrange jump shot, and a few tough finishes in transition.

Carr didn’t slow down the rest of the game and finished with a team-high 20 points. He also had the funniest moment of the game when he did pushups after missing a dunk. I doubt we’ll see that during the regular season, but part of me hopes he breaks that out again.

The one concern you could have with playing Carr at the four is his lack of size. He typically will be shorter than who he matches up against, but that’s more than okay knowing how athletic Carr is. He will still be able to outjump any other forward he goes up against, so his lack of size isn’t a concern.

Hopefully Izzo saw what the rest of us did and continues to play him there because it’s obvious that’s where Carr excels the most.