Michigan State basketball is officially a week away from its most exciting exhibition game of the year, hosting UConn on Oct. 20 for a top-10 showdown that ultimately won’t count for anything.
But hey, it’s a chance to see what each team looks like compared to other top teams.
And it’ll be interesting to see the starting lineups. For Michigan State, there are probably four locked-in starters, but recent practice photos may be hinting at a surprise fifth starter.
One Spartan fan on Twitter, Loomin Knotty, has been pointing this out for a couple of weeks now ever since the team started teasing practice shots with the first team going up against the second team. Obviously there could be different reasons the players have green or white jerseys during a scrimmage or just a practice drill, but if you notice the theme that guys like Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, and Cam Ward always seem to be wearing green, that may be a tell.
In the latest batch of practice photos, Carr and Ward appeared in green jerseys, signifying first-team status, but there’s a surprise player donning white and defending against Ward: Anton Bonke.
Another week of work pic.twitter.com/ie9z5JZD8f
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) October 13, 2026
That’s right, the transfer center from Charlotte came to Michigan State as a projected starter but he looked like the second-best option at the position during the exhibition game against Incarnate Word. This may be a hint that Michigan State is leaning towards starting true freshman Ethan Taylor.
This could obviously mean nothing, but Bonke wearing the same jersey color as the second-teamers is a little surprising given the fact that many believed Taylor was going to be somewhat of a project. He looked really good against Incarnate Word and may have just earned himself a larger role. This could also just mean that Tom Izzo wants to give both a chance to start during exhibition play before zeroing in on his No. 1 guy.
UConn comes to the Breslin Center next Tuesday and that’s going to be one heck of an exhibition test for this team, but Taylor might just be getting his first career start for the Spartans.
Again, there’s still a few weeks until the season officially tips off so this is Izzo probably just seeing what he has, but getting these hints on social media and trying to decipher what they mean is every Spartan fan’s favorite preseason game.
Can you tell that football is the last thing on a lot of Spartan minds?
Ethan Taylor deserves a shot after the opener
There’s no doubt about it, Bonke is going to want to forget his exhibition-opening performance and Taylor would love an encore. Bonke looked like he was the project and kind of played in slow motion while Taylor was grabbing boards, he was active on the defensive end, and he showed he can get some buckets on offense.
There was a clear top performer at center, and it wasn’t the veteran transfer.
Taylor looked like the borderline five-star that committed to Michigan State last year, joining his Link Academy teammate Carlos Medlock Jr. in East Lansing. The two of them are going to be really good for years, but Taylor’s role may be slightly bigger as a true freshman.
Starting in an exhibition game doesn’t guarantee the same role during the regular season, but Izzo entertaining starting a true freshman at center is something that we haven’t seen since Nick Ward.
Even Xavier Booker only got a handful of starts during his first season as a five-star freshman.
Taylor earned his shot against Incarnate Word, and the “tea leaves” — as Loomin Knotty put it — are pointing to him getting a starting chance against UConn. That’s going to be the real test.
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