Ethan Taylor is just a few weeks into his Michigan State basketball career and the freshman is already feeling the effects of Hall of Fame coaching.
Tom Izzo is going to be spending a lot of time working on Taylor who shows a lot of promise as a big man and the Hall of Famer doesn’t want him ending up the same way that Xavier Booker did. I’m not saying that Booker is a bad player, but he just didn’t work out at Michigan State and Izzo is going to ensure the same fate doesn’t happen to Taylor.
So far, Taylor is feeling the extra love and attention from the coaching staff.
Following Moneyball earlier this week, Taylor spoke about how the adjustment to college has been and he said that it wasn’t that bad but he loves getting coached up.
He also said that he feels like he’s going to blossom and “skyrocket” at Michigan State.
If the freshman is that confident in the coaching staff already, that’s a really good sign. Adjusting to Izzo and his coaching staff isn’t the easiest transition ever, but Taylor is taking it in stride and if he reaches his full potential, he could be one of the most talented bigs to ever come through East Lansing — he is already the biggest.
Don’t expect Taylor to be the starting center as a true freshman, but if he learns for a year under Anton Bonke and Jesse McCulloch takes him under his wing, I have high hopes for him.
Ethan Taylor is going to be fun to watch grow
What we all expected from Booker, I think we’re going to see with Taylor. Although he’s not a long-range shooter right now, he could add that to his game. Taylor is, however, a much more willing defender and he uses that length to his advantage.
Early on in his Spartan career, I think we’re going to see Taylor play more of a defensive role with the occasional pick-and-roll lob, but he’ll grow into a more well-rounded player in years two and three.
The growth that we’re going to see from the freshman from Link Academy may not be immediate, but we’ll see a much different player at the end of the 2026-27 season than we see in November.
Michigan State fans are going to love what Taylor brings to the table. There’s a reason he was once considered the No. 2 center in the class and he made Team USA’s roster this summer.
Buy stock now before he skyrockets.
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