Michigan State had a glaring need this offseason and it took a few weeks and several fanbase meltdowns for Tom Izzo to address it.
The Spartans lost Carson Cooper who exhausted his eligibility and only had Ethan Taylor coming in to replace him along with power forward/center Jesse McCulloch who was undoubtedly going to see a bigger role in 2026-27 regardless. It was a nightmare scenario, but Izzo knew he had to address the center spot somehow, whether that be with a surprise fifth year from Cooper or a transfer addition.
Izzo went with the transfer addition.
The Hall of Fame head coach landed Charlotte big man Anton Bonke via the transfer portal and that addressed that major need and talked Spartan fans off the ledge.
Michigan State fans were hoping that Izzo swung for the fences with a guy like Moustapha Thiam or Flory Bidunga, but he went with a guy who fit his system like Bonke who was going through the NBA draft process with the intention of returning.
On the final day of the draft decision deadline, Bonke announced his return and it officially crushed that “weakness” at center.
Bonke will have one of the most important roles on the team.
What will Anton Bonke’s role be in 2026-27?
Bonke is going to assume that starting center position, making him the second transfer to start at the five for Michigan State over the past three years — Szymon Zapala did win a Big Ten title two years ago.
Will Bonke experience the same luck? I believe he has a much higher ceiling than Zapala.
Bonke is an athletic big man who has elite size at 7-foot-2 and he’s going to be a perfect pick-and-roll option for Jeremy Fears, but he also stands apart from Cooper a bit because he can hit the occasional three. Not only is he a pick-and-roll option, but he can be a pick-and-pop threat.
My guess is that we’ll see him play around 25 minutes per game which is what Cooper did last season and he’ll average close to 10 and eight. He has the potential to exceed those expectations but there’s going to be some growing pains with his move from Charlotte to the Big Ten. He’ll ease in eventually, but early on, I think he might struggle.
Once he gets comfortable and adjusted to his new team, he’s going to take off. He’ll shoot around 35 percent from three and be a double-double threat each game out.
The Spartans will need him to assume the Cooper role, and I think he’s athletic enough to do that. He may not have the same rim-running ability, but his size makes up for that.
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