Michigan State basketball: Predicting 2024-25 rotation after Szymon Zapala commitment

Michigan State basketball picked up a commitment from Longwood center transfer Szymon Zapala on Tuesday. What will the rotation look like?

The final roster is officially set. Michigan State basketball landed Longwood center transfer Szymon Zapala on Tuesday and Tom Izzo said that he would look to add two transfers this offseason. He got his second transfer.

Now that Frankie Fidler and Zapala make up the transfer class along with Jase Richardson, Kur Teng, and Jesse McCulloch making up the incoming recruiting class, the rotations for 2024-25 are beginning to take shape.

The Spartans have depth at all the positions and while the “elite” center that everyone was hoping for wasn’t added this offseason, Izzo feels comfortable with the team he has moving forward. He didn’t want to rock the boat in the transfer portal so he avoided adding a center who would take meaningful playing time away from Jaxon Kohler or Carson Cooper.

With that being said, let’s look at what the rotation — starters and backup(s) — will look like next season.

Point guard: Jeremy Fears Jr., Tre Holloman, Jase Richardson
Shooting guard: Jaden Akins, Holloman, Kur Teng
Small forward: Frankie Fidler, Gehrig Normand
Power forward: Xavier Booker, Coen Carr, Jesse McCulloch
Center: Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper, Szymon Zapala

So judging by this projected rotation, the starting lineup is this:

PG: Fears
SG: Akins
SF: Fidler
PF: Booker
C: Kohler

And the primary backups for each are:
PG: Holloman
SG: Teng
SF: Normand
PF: Carr
C: Cooper

The depth pieces who could fill in as primary backups but will likely play limited action with the third units are Richardson, McCulloch, and Zapala. Nick Sanders could also see more playing time at guard this year as a walk-on with Davis Smith gone.

Overall, the team looks solid, on paper, but it’s one of those groups that could either shock everyone and compete for a Big Ten title or just barely sneak into the NCAA Tournament. Not a ton of in-between there, in my opinion. A lot of youth pieces and not a ton of veterans.