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Eight months ago, Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr and the rest of the 2025-26 Michigan State Spartans were chilling amidst the beachside views at Coach Tom Izzo’s Lake Michigan house. The team’s annual trip to Grand Haven, MI, was filled with jet skis, volleyball games and gliding along the crystal blue waters on inner tubes. It was also the inception of the two mottos they’ve been holding themselves to ever since.
Be Different. Strength in Numbers.
A little over 100 miles west of East Lansing is where the No. 8-ranked Spartans developed the connection that the college basketball world has seen grow into one of the most formidable squads in the nation. Before each game, home or away, the two phrases are scrawled on the locker room whiteboard. Whether through a prolonged stare or a quick glance, a total of five words remind each player of what they’re building toward and what’s required to get there.
“Winning games, that's cool, but we want to win championships, whether it's the Big Ten tournament, Big Ten championship, March Madness. All of that stuff is goals and dreams that you set before the season,” Jeremy says.
With five wins over teams ranked top-25 in the nation, the 25-5 Spartans are clicking at the perfect time with just one final contest left in the season. Tom Izzo’s reign of securing the best point guards in the country has continued with Jeremy Fears Jr. leading the Spartans with 15.1 points, 9.1 assists [the most in all of college basketball] and 1.3 steals per game. To his left on Michigan State’s first-ever SLAMU Digital Cover is the 6-6 junior that Spartan legend Jason Richardson has crowned “the best dunker when it comes to Michigan State history.” That would be Coen Carr.
Alongside big men Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper as well as a cohort of wings and guards like Kurr Teng, Jordan Scott, Cam Ward and others, the Spartan’s synergy this season has been forged through the gauntlet of Big Ten play and remaining one.
Their second game of the season against Arkansas showed them what types of pieces they were working with. Their mid-November win against Kentucky at Madison Square Garden showed them what life was like when everything was running smoothly. And their nail-biting victory against Purdue in late February solidified their toughness on the road.
“We're not just playing to win games, [we’re] playing to win championships over here. So it's always having a mentality to win at the highest level,” Coen says, when asked about what’s different with this year’s team. “Also having a team where you got eight, nine, 10 guys that just play hard. And there’s not really that much drop off between the starters and the bench.”
Jeremy and Coen know better than anyone the importance of everyone’s buy-in. They’ve spent the past three seasons dedicated to the Spartan Green, growing from contributors off the bench to the team’s vocal and emotional leaders. Entering the season, Tom Izzo laid out his vision for his floor general and multi-faceted forward.
“Something me and Coach Iz talked about was definitely having a bigger role,” Jeremy says. “We had a lot of guys leave, some guys graduated and whatnot. And overall, just being able to come and help the guys; be a better leader, be a better player. And I think I put the time in in the summer to work on my game.”
In his redshirt sophomore year, Fears has more than welcomed his role as the lead guard, dishing out the most assists per game in all of college hoops. This season alone he’s already racked up 12 games with 10 or more assists, including his 17 and 17 double-double against Maryland. In an overtime win against Illinois, he sent the Breslin Center into a frenzy by dropping a 26-piece along with 15 dimes.
Creating for others is woven into his DNA. And with an intuition as strong and clear as his, Jeremy is constantly fine-tuning the various connections he has across the roster. He’s holding conversations in the weight room about where a big prefers an entry pass and when they want a lob instead. After practice, he’ll pull guys to shoot around, gauging their preferred spot on the perimeter to receive a kick out and where each player's shot pocket lies.
“If I work out with you, I kind of understand how you like the ball,” Jeremy says. “I talk and I give you confidence like, I think you’re the best shooter in the world. You can make every shot. I think you’re that good to make every shot. Just some of that stuff, some words, it builds your confidence. If you think you’re going to make every shot and we think you’re going to make every shot, your chances go way up.”
As the one on the receiving end of a majority of Jeremy’s passes toward the rim, Coen confirms his point guard’s dedication to the art of assists. “You know he’s going to get you open. You know he’s always looking for you. So I feel like for me, I’m just trying to be ready at all times for the pass. You never know when it’s going to come to you so you just got to be ready for it, for sure,” Coen says.
When Fears committed to Izzo and Michigan State back in 2022, he knew that he was stepping into a long line of point guards who had taken the Spartans to conference championships, Final Fours and national titles. The pressure that came with the expectations of leading the Spartans back to those mountaintops was welcomed with open arms.
Alongside Carr, that pressure dissipates, knowing that in a bind, the Atlanta native has no problems finding himself open for a quick two points. Whether it’s soaring in to crash the glass, connecting on an alley oop or bruising past defenders in the lane toward the cup, we’re sending our best to anyone standing in No. 55’s way.
Izzo’s vision for Coen mirrored his point guard’s overall path: assuming a bigger role. But most importantly, “have fun with it.”
“I feel like the team we had last year, it could be anybody’s day. One game they might only need you to play 20 minutes. The next game you might end up playing 35 minutes depending on who we’re playing. I just always tried to stay ready, so I feel like it was my time,” Coen says. “So I just waited, and I feel like I was ready for the moment, and when it came I felt like I did a pretty good job.”
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After playing what Coach Izzo described as his best basketball throughout the 2025 NCAA tournament, Coen turned his lone start in last year’s Sweet 16 game into an explosive junior year campaign that’s seen him post 11.4 points, 5.2 boards and nearly a block per game.
One moment, he’s meeting a defender at the rim to stuff a breakaway poster. Seconds later, he’s catching a lob from Jeremy on the other end of the hardwood. Everything from the stanchion to the cables that hold the shot clock shakes under the pressure of his throw-downs. And sometimes, they shatter, like this past summer at Paideia High School when a seemingly simple one-handed flush sent glass reigning down from above.
A few days before we touched down at the Breslin Center for the duo's cover shoot, a three minute and 10 second highlight video instantly caught fire across X, TikTok and Instagram. For over 180 seconds, Coen is seen flying through the air for one spectacular display of athleticism after another. Lobs, posters, windmills, 360s, backboard pins and sending shots into the seventh row. The bunnies are absurd. And he’s doing it all in one of the best sneaker rotations in all of college basketball. Don’t believe us? Go peep the SLAM KICKS IG when you’ve wrapped up here.
There’s a unique type of chip carved into the shoulders of those out in East Lansing. There’s a grit, a certain type of grind, a persistent hunger to get better that never fades. An edge, built over seasons of dedication, that knows no matter how many games you win, whatever you do, it’s only good enough if you keep improving. Keep getting better. Keep being different.
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