“The four guys that are back, that have all started here — Cooper, Jaxon [Kholer], Coen [Carr] and Jeremy Fears — I think, have all made significant improvement,” Izzo said Monday afternoon. “What does significant improvement mean? I don't know, but I think every one of them is shooting it better.”

This offseason saw multiple notable departures from Jaden Akins and Jase Richardson leaving for the NBA, while Tre Holloman and Xavier Booker took to the transfer portal. 

MSU also hit the transfer portal this summer, grabbing Samford guard Trey Fort, Miami guard Divine Ugochukwu and Denham Wojcik from Harvard.

The Spartans also boast a strong freshman class, featuring No. 10 nationally ranked power forward Cam Ward and Jordan Scott, No. 12 among small forwards and No. 54 overall. 

“Jordan Scott has been more like a Max Christie-type guy, where we worried about his defensive strength, and he's really shown where he's improved in both areas,” Izzo said. “Cam Ward might be the strongest, toughest freshman I've had in a while, and that's going to be encouraging.”

MSU was left unranked in ESPN’s early projections but was listed as “next in line." CBS Sports placed the Spartans at No. 16. 

Last week, athletic director J Batt and President Kevin Guskiewicz joined a Lansing Economic Club panel to discuss how MSU will adapt in a new era of college athletics. Both emphasized that “athletics is the front porch to the university” and shared confidence in MSU’s financial ability to remain competitive across sports.

On Monday, Izzo continued to express his displeasure with the current state of college athletics, particularly with NIL and the transfer portal. 

“I apologize to those in charge. I apologize to you that have to live it. I apologize to some of my good friends,” Izzo said. “The bad outweighs the good, if you're dealing with 18, 19 and 20 year olds, in my opinion. So I don't know if I'm trying to deal with the evolution of it. I guess I'm trying to manage and be aware of the problems.”

The transfer portal was a major factor this offseason, with several Big Ten teams making significant upgrades heading into 2024–25, according to On3. Washington, Michigan and USC rank third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the nation in transfer additions this season, while seven other Big Ten schools rank inside the top 30. This offseason, MSU was slotted at No. 62 nationally and No. 17 in the conference.

It’s not certain what’s to come this season, but Izzo said he believes in his guys and that they’ve built something “special” at MSU.

“We got something special here. I don't know what it's gonna mean for the year, but I am gonna have some fun trying to trying to solve it and trying to get it done,” Izzo said. “I hope we don't think it's doing it your way as much as I hope the day comes when you're saying he did it the right way. That's what I hope. I think some of those guys are doing it the right way.”