Michigan State basketball’s young stars shining, with more on way

EAST LANSING – As Tom Izzo glowed about his next incoming class with Michigan State basketball, he also gushed with appreciation for his past two groups of recruits.

About how sophomores Jordan Scott and Cam Ward delivered big play after big play in the No. 5 Spartans’ impressive win over No. 2 Duke on Tuesday, Nov 10. And how freshmen Jasiah Jervis, Carlos “C.J.” Medlock and Ethan Taylor all provided strong contributions under the national spotlight during the Spartans’ 79-73 victory in Chicago over the Blue Devils in the Champions Classic.

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“I like the fact that they responded. Just every one of them did, and they responded well,” Izzo said Thursday. “Hopefully that’s a positive. We’ll see if that continues.

Michigan State Spartans forward Cam Ward (3) dunks the against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the Champions Classic in Chicago at the United Center on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026.

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“The big thing now is consistency. Can we get consistent? Can we stack days? Can we keep getting better each day?”

The Spartans (3-0) will look to maintain their momentum when they host Northern Iowa (2-1) on Friday (7 p.m., FS1). And Izzo will look to get even more out of his young nucleus, as MSU showed both its current strengths and future promise.

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The improvements both Scott and Ward made since last season was on full display Tuesday.

Scott was a defensive dynamo in his 31 minutes, setting career highs with nine rebounds and six blocks while also getting 11 deflections to disrupt Duke’s offense. He scored only five points on 2-for-7 shooting, but one make was a key first-half 3-pointer and the other was a driving layup in the closing minutes to preserve the wire-to-wire win.

Ward, meanwhile, came off the bench to score 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting with six rebounds and a block in 21 minutes. He had 11 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 in the first half, for a much-needed…

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Publish date : 2026-11-13 10:07:00

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