Michigan State's Most Underrated Player for Next Season

Should Tom Izzo roll with a traditional lineup next season, it's likely Cooper would be Michigan State's starting center, a role he will be ready for, seeing as he averaged 17.2 minutes last year while playing in all 37 games. To compare, last year's starting center, Szymon Zapala, averaged just 14.1 minutes.

Cooper is strictly a post presence; he isn't an outside shooter but is your old-school big man who can dominate you on the boards while locking down the paint. He was the team's second-leading rebounder last season with 5.2 rebounds per game, trailing only Jaxon Kohler, who will also, of course, be returning.

Michigan State landed transfer Kaleb Glenn, a wing who is capable of starting. But with Coen Carr likely to be a full-time starter next year, Izzo will have a decision to make as to whether he wants to go with a small or big lineup -- Glenn on the wing with Carr at the 4 and Kohler at the 5, or Glenn coming off the bench with Carr, Kohler and Cooper running the frontcourt.

It wasn't often that Izzo mixed up the lineup last season, but it's possible he'll want to go back and forth with these two different lineups based on matchups.

Regardless, Cooper's presence is going to be crucial, as he's the Spartans' only experienced pure center. Jesse McCulloch will likely be his backup but redshirted his first season and didn't see any action.

Cooper was pivotal down the stretch late in the season and was an asset you wanted on the floor when the game was in the balance. The same will be expected of him next year when the Spartans once again take on a Big Ten conference filled with talented centers.

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