This offseason is the most critical yet for Michigan State’s Carson Cooper
Carson Cooper, forward for the Michigan State University basketball team, is now a veteran on Tom Izzo’s team, and with that comes much greater responsibility.
Cooper made a huge leap from a backup in the rotation to one of the most important big men in Izzo’s lineup during his freshman season.
This and more is expected of him again in the coming season.
“I think where I am now is going to be my biggest step,” Cooper said when he joined “The Drive with Jack” on Friday. “Coach (Izzo) really emphasized, especially to me and Tre (Holloman) and Jaxon (Kohler), that guys who are going to be juniors — who are taking on a bigger role this year — are going to be juniors. And we have a say now, we’ve been through the ropes, we’ve earned our veteran status a little bit. So, coach just comes to us and lets us know, ‘All right, this is going to be a lot different than the first two years when you could just follow guys around. But now you’re more in the spotlight. You’re the leader that the younger guys look up to. It might not feel like it, but you have to adapt and just be able to step into this new role.’ That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Cooper still has a long way to go before he gets where he wants to be, but he knows what is expected of him.
“I would say — I mean, you could probably ask any Michigan State basketball fan in the country, and they’ll probably tell you … the summer is a big year for me right now to develop my offensive game and get comfortable with it,” Cooper said. “And that’s something I’m really focused on.
“I obviously made a big step defensively from year one to year two. I was able to find my rhythm and get stops when I needed to, be flexible in our defensive positions, cover guys — that’s all well and good, and that’s probably ultimately what coach wants you to do when you go on the field, but it’s limited to what you can really do and how people can cover you. So for me, it’s just about having that comfort level, maybe having a consistent 15-footer, having a good jump shot, a jump hook in the post, just being more versatile, that’s just going to be the most important thing.”
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