As one of Michigan State’s leading scorers and a team leader, Coen Carr is expected to bring his A-game every time out. Unfortunately, that pressure can get to student-athletes, and it’s led to him pressing a bit in recent weeks and he’s taken himself out of games.
Carr has been solid all year, averaging 11.6 points and 4.9 rebounds, but a lot of people expected more from the junior forward from Georgia.
Although he has taken an obvious step on the offensive side of the ball, he has a tendency to disappear during games. Sometimes it feels like he’s only making an impact if he’s throwing down a monstrous dunk to get the crowd going after a lull or making a big block on a breakaway. It’s great to have both of those possibilities, but it’s also important to contribute regularly.
Carr had a somewhat quiet stretch from the North Carolina game to the Penn State contest, scoring over 10 points just one time. He needed to be more aggressive.
Tom Izzo is working on that with him, and the version of Carr we saw against Oakland on Saturday afternoon at LCA was one that could lead Michigan State to a national title.
The junior from Georgia finished with a career-high 22 points with seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. He shot 8-for-13 from the floor, hit a three, and went 5-for-7 from the line. This was probably the best overall game we saw from him all season.
And Michigan State needs that moving forward.
Michigan State’s ceiling is the sky if Coen Carr plays like this
Often times this season, Michigan State’s offense has gone stagnant for long stretches. Jeremy Fears Jr. does the best he can to give the team a spark with a quick fast-break bucket or drive and dish, but he can’t do it all. He needs some help.
Jaxon Kohler has stepped up, and Carson Cooper has also done a really good job offensively this season. But having another scoring option like Carr is only going to raise this team’s ceiling.
I already believe this team is good enough to win it all, but if Carr continues to play like he did against Oakland, Michigan State is going to be a top-five team and a legit title favorite.
I don’t necessarily need to see Carr shooting a bunch of jumpers, but using that elite athleticism to drive the lane and absorb contact while finishing at the rim is going to make Michigan State nearly impossible to guard. He would be a human cheat code if he did that regularly.
Carr can no longer be passive. Michigan State can’t afford that in Big Ten play. Much like he told Miles Bridges back in the day, Izzo has to preach aggressiveness on offense to Carr.
If Saturday was any indication of what we can expect moving forward, this could be a special season.