Michigan State’s Tom Izzo weighs in on Anton Bonke, plus Jesse McCulloch analysis

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo offered a word of optimism and a word of caution when discussing the impending arrival of 7-foot-2 transfer center Anton Bonke. “You talk about all these centers in the portal, and one's rated this, and one's rated that,” Izzo said during a recent appearance on The Drive With Jack podcast with award-winning journalist Jack Ebling. “I think the hardest thing for fans is Jabbar isn't coming here, and Jabbar isn't going to one other school out there.  “You’ve got to remember, in basketball, if a kid is a junior or senior, and he's 6'10”, or 6-11", and he's that good, he's gone pro already. “And people have this myth that a kid won't go pro because he can make more money (in college) now. That's not really true either. I mean, if you get a chance to be in the NBA, you're going. “Most of these kids in the portal at that size are kids that are good players that are trying to get better, but they're not saviors to anybody. We just think this kid has a little bit of everything. He's tough, he's got size, he can shoot the three.” Michigan State needed help at the center position, due to the graduation of Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler. Redshirt-sophomore Jesse McCulloch is on schedule to be solid-to-good performer soon. McCulloch will compete with Bonke for the starting center job, and the two could end up dividing center minutes evenly. Incoming freshman Ethan Taylor has good ball skills in the post but will encounter a learning curve in college, and needs to prove he has the motor and tenacity to make an impact at the college level. (MORE inside SpartanMag. Join SpartanMag: $1 to get started, and enjoy a complimentary year of The Athletic included with your membership. Get Deal Now! 👉 https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-state-spartans/join/)