Jaxon Kohler was pleasantly surprising standout during Spain trip

The Michigan State basketball Spain trip is in the books and during the Spartans' three games against professional teams, we learned a lot.

We learned that this team can compete with just about anyone and we saw that in the final game of the trip against KK FMP which is one of the best professional teams from Serbia, loaded with talent. Michigan State came up just short, 115-110, but it did not quit even after getting punched in the mouth a few times.

We also learned that Michigan State has a legit starting point guard who could become one of the greats in program history as well as a rising center.

Jeremy Fears' rise is no surprise, but Jaxon Kohler's explosion in Spain caught some off-guard.

Kohler stepped up and looked like the best center on the team and it really wasn't that close. Carson Cooper was shaky, at best, and didn't quite have the improved offensive game we were all hoping for. Szymon Zapala showed flashes but he wasn't consistent enough on either end.

On the flip side, Kohler looked slimmer and quicker. He looked like he could hold his own in the post on both ends of the floor and his defense was actually a pleasant surprise.

Offensively, he scored in double figures in each game and flashed some outside shooting as well as a back-to-the-basket game that opened some eyes. He also has a nice post fadeaway shot that could come in handy this season. Basically, he can do everything offensively that Michigan State needs from the center position and he'll be able to spread the floor.

While fans tuned into these Spain games to see just how talented this year's team would be, they had to be pleasantly surprised by the rise of Kohler and his "next step" as a starting big man at MSU.

I don't know about you, but I think the center rotation has to start with Kohler.