NEW YORK — After turning heads with one of the most holistically satisfying and stunning performances in his program’s recent history, Tom Izzo was asked about the transfer portal.
Not just asked … it was the first question after No. 18 Michigan State basketball dismantled No. 13 Kentucky, 83-66, in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
It was an ironic moment, considering the players who delivered the biggest moments in a big-stage performance at Madison Square Garden.
Jaxon Kohler, a 2022 recruit, led everyone with 20 points. Jeremy Fears Jr., a 2023 signee, dished out a career-best 13 assists. Coen Carr, who arrived with Fears, threw down a crowd-inciting dunk on an alley-oop from his point guard.
But the biggest development of the young season for MSU (4-0) came from Kur Teng and Jesse McCulloch, the only two remaining members of Izzo’s 2024 recruiting class.
McCullouch and Teng are in their second seasons, following the departure of Jase Richardson from the same class to the NBA, and are the two players who appeared likely to lose minutes as November rolled on. They combined for 23 points and five of the shooting-deficient Spartans’ 11 3-pointers.
“It’s funny you’d ask that question,” Izzo said, “because that seems to be the people that are getting the most credit, the transfer portal recruitment is almost bigger than winning games. Not at Michigan State. Someday, it could hurt me. I’m going to do what I gotta do. But I don’t give up on the people I got.
“That’s what we call development, and that’s what you call working with players. You stick with them and they stick with you.”
The best examples Tuesday were McCulloch and Teng, roommates for the Spartans.
Teng took a back seat to Richardson last year. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound sophomore was then benched after struggling with his shot in two exhibition games and the season opener against Colgate. He played just six minutes in the Spartans’ win over Arkansas on Nov. 8, then scored a career-best 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting against San Jose State on Nov. 14.
Izzo went back to Teng early against Kentucky (3-2), and he continued his hot streak with a steal before his first 3-pointer tied the game at 17-all. He hit a pull-up midrange shot and another baseline jumper – beating the shot clock with just a few seconds remaining in the first half – to go into halftime with seven points.
Teng’s most critical buckets came early in the second half, as the Wildcats tried to get physical. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers to stem a six-point Kentucky run.
“My coaches, my teammates made sure that I stayed confident,” said Teng, who finished with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including 3-for-7 on 3s. “I always want to be ready when my number is called. I just stepped up to the moment, and it was a great game.”
Starting the run for the Spartans
But Teng’s biggest play turned out to be an assist on McCulloch’s breakout performance.
With a little over nine minutes remaining, Kentucky cut it to a 10-point game and Izzo called timeout. Following the stoppage, the ball found its way to Teng in the halfcourt, and he drove toward the right side of the lane. As he did, McCulloch cleared out to the right corner and caught a kickout pass, swishing a 3-pointer that began a 20-6 run to put away the Wildcats.
“I’m proud of my guys,” Izzo said. “I’m proud of the guys that hung in there. A lot of them could have left. Tonight, they got rewarded for one night. What does that mean in the future? We’ll see.”
Teng played sparingly last season and McCulloch, a 6-11 big, took a rare redshirt while the Spartans went 30-7 and won the Big Ten regular-season title. They advanced to the Elite Eight, and he sat and watched during the first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, as MSU played in his hometown of Cleveland.
This season, McCulloch played six minutes against both Colgate and San Jose State and just four against Arkansas. He entered Tuesday with just four points and one rebound. But after Kohler and Carson Cooper played the game’s first 6:45 without a break at the post, Izzo summoned McCulloch from the bench.
He delivered with a drop-step layup off another Teng assist shortly after entering the game, then popped out to the wing and cooly swished his first collegiate 3-pointer.
“I just stayed ready,” said McCulloch, whose eight points, 3-for-3 shooting, two rebounds and 9:06 all were season highs. “When the moment comes, the coaches believe in me. The players lean on me, and they keep telling me, ‘Stay ready, stay ready.’ So when the moment came, I was prepared.”
McCulloch, Kohler said, is expected to be a pivotal contributor this season. The senior said his understudy “really put his foot down on being in our rotation.”
“He’s trying to find himself. He’s trying to establish his game,” Kohler said. “Especially coming off his redshirt year as a freshman, it’s hard. It’s hard to know, without stepping on any toes or making mistakes. … I feel like today, he went in, he did his job, and we kept him in there.
“That’s something about coach – when you do your job and you do your job well, he rewards you for that by keeping you in. And Jess did as good of a job as anybody.”
Fresh starts for freshmen Cam Ward, Jordan Scott
Even the two newest players to Izzo’s camp shined in the MSG spotlight. Cam Ward contributed eight points and four rebounds in his 17:19, going toe-to-toe physically with Kentucky’s bigs. And though fellow freshman Jordan Scott had just one point, one assist and two turnovers in his 11:59, he tied Fears for the team lead at plus-19 thanks to his long-armed defense.
Izzo has not been portal-averse in recent years, adding transfers such as Joey Hauser, Tyson Walker, Frankie Fidler and Szymon Zapala (among others). He brought in four additions over the offseason. That included starting shooting guard Trey Fort (a Samford transfer), who had 13 points and three 3-pointers. Fears’ backup, Divine Ugochukwu (from Miami of Florida), drove and scored at the rim in his 8-plus minutes.
“Them young guys showed up tonight, and new guys,” Fears said.
But the majority of Tuesday’s Champions Classic victory proved homegrown – the way Izzo prefers in a college sports world that looks far different than it did just before the oldest of these Spartans arrived on campus.
“I’m just going to keep hanging in there until it doesn’t work, and I’ll still get a transfer here and there,” Izzo said. “I just don’t want to get rid of guys that have put in a lot of time and put in a lot of effort. Their loyalty to me has got to be my loyalty to them, and loyalty still freakin’ matters.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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Next up: Titans
Matchup: No. 18 Michigan State (4-0) vs. Detroit Mercy (1-4).
Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21; Breslin Center; East Lansing.
TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WJR-AM (760).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball upset of Kentucky rooted in loyalty
Reporting by Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
