Michigan State basketball could be a sneaky-good shooting team in 2024-25
The excitement level for Michigan State basketball has been steadily rising this offseason, but the expectations have dipped dramatically from last offseason to this year.
A year ago, Tyson Walker, Malik Hall, and AJ Hoggard all decided to come back to help lead the Spartans to a Final Four and they were even ranked in the top five to start the year. Unfortunately, things were derailed early on with James Madison opening the season with a massive upset win over Michigan State at the Breslin Center.
And it was a bumpy ride the rest of the way.
Michigan State earned a 9-seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament after starting the season ranked in that top five and it lost in the second round to North Carolina despite having a huge lead early on.
A major reason for all of the struggles this past season -- and really for the past few years -- was the team's lackluster shooting and offensive performance. Sure, there were guys who could fill it up like Walker and Jaden Akins, but there just weren't enough reliable sharpshooters.
That seems to be changing, even with Walker gone.
Michigan State basketball posted this video on X and it really made me think that this year's team could be shockingly good at shooting from long range.
No, we didn't see a single shot go through the hoop, but the sheer number of shooters that this team has is impressive and it's honestly being overlooked.
Frankie Fidler may be the team's best shooter after transferring in from Omaha, we know Jaden Akins can shoot, Gehrig Normand is a natural shooter who redshirted last year, Kur Teng might be one of the best shooting freshmen in the nation, Jase Richardson can knock it down from deep, Jeremy Fears is improving in that area, Tre Holloman is known to knock down some threes, Xavier Booker is a floor-stretching big who hits threes regularly, and the video above even shows Coen Carr working on his shot and hitting one from the corner.
If Carr can add a 3-point shot to his arsenal, this team might be one of the scariest that no one is talking about in college basketball.
Michigan State's entire starting lineup, sans Jaxon Kohler, Szymon Zapala, and Carson Cooper, can hit shots from anywhere on the floor. That's a recipe for major success.
Don't be shocked if this becomes one of Izzo's best shooting teams.