“It’s better than I could have imagined”

Freshman Kur Teng made a big decision when he left his home in Massachusetts and moved to Michigan State, a drive of about 900 miles from home.

But the Spartans stood out for the four-star recruit, who chose Michigan State over schools like Auburn, Iowa, Miami (FL), Seton Hall and Rutgers.

“It was really like a family-oriented program,” Teng told me on Tuesday at the 2024 Moneyball Pro-Am. “Like the coaches, everyone is close. When I went on my visits, the team welcomed me, it was just perfect.”

Teng couldn’t name a specific person who welcomed him, as everyone warmly welcomed the new freshman during his visits and upon his arrival in East Lansing.

“Everyone, seriously,” Teng said. “That’s really the point. That’s what I mean by it being like a family, but I’ve really been around Jeremy Fears, Tre Holloman, Gehrig (Normand), Jax (Jaxon Kohler), everybody, everybody. Book (Xavier Booker), Coen (Carr).”

Michigan State has made a strong first impression on Teng during his first offseason with the program overall.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s Michigan State,” Teng said. “So, I mean, everything is better than I could have imagined.”

Teng was ranked as the top 2024 prospect in the state of Massachusetts according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, is the No. 9 shooting guard in his class and the 52nd overall prospect in the 2024 class.

Teng has already received a lot of praise this summer. His teammate, Spartan point guard Tre Holloman,

“Kur can shoot and defend. I think that’s the most underrated aspect of his game,” Holloman said at the Moneyball Pro-Am earlier this month.