Analyst Predicts Big Season for Spartans

And he’s not wrong. This is the first time Fears comes off a full season, and he knows what to expect at the college level.

From his cut-short freshman season to his redshirt freshman season, where he started every game, you saw a different player — someone who has confidence he can excel at this level, along with his exceptional playmaking skills.

Not only that, he just saw his brother, Jeremiah, get drafted to the New Orleans Pelicans — when Jeremy was originally the more sought-after recruit out of high school.

Carr will be the X factor heading into this season, though.

The rising junior forward is an athletic freak who can jump out of the gym with his explosiveness and is a lob threat at any given moment. The problem with Carr is his shooting — and it’s always been his shooting.

Coach Tom Izzo has gone on record saying that he believes Carr has star potential, and there’s some reason to believe that Carr’s shot is finally developing. From a highlight video of offseason workouts, you can see that Carr is pulling up from 3 a lot more comfortably, whether it be in catch-and-shoot situations or spot-up.

Offseason workout videos can always be a tad misleading, though, as they’re simply a way to show the fans that their favorite players are staying active and give them a snippet of what’s to come. So it’s important to temper our expectations. Let’s save the excitement for when the games start.

The addition of Ward is huge, but it’ll be interesting to see where Izzo places him.

Ward is a strong presence down low, who needs to develop a perimeter jumpshot but has a solid mid-range game à la David West.

However, with Fears’ ability to distribute the ball, perhaps Ward and Fears can develop a pick-and-pop type of chemistry.

Overall, this team is lacking a sniper from deep. The talent is surely there, and Glenn was supposed to be that guy — but now someone else needs to step up as a shooter.

Jaxon Kohler is an interesting option, who shot 38% from deep last season but will now most likely be asked to do more.

You can never count out an Izzo-coached team, and as this team continues to get the reps, there’s plenty of room for growth, a Big Ten championship, and perhaps another deep NCAA Tournament run.

It’s a lot of “what ifs?” — but would you rather be asking yourself “what if?” or appreciating that you saw something through?

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