Couch: 3 quick takes on Coen Carr, Cam Ward and MSU's basketball team from the Moneyball Pro-Am

HOLT — A half-dozen Coen Carr dunks, 3-pointers falling from guys who aren’t known for making 3s, palpable intrigue from a big crowd — the first night of the Moneyball Pro-Am had all the usual trimmings.

If you were there Tuesday to see Michigan State's players — and they are the draw, though far from the only talent — you left entertained and with both optimism and reasons to come back, in part because there are guys still to see that were missing.

Here are 3 quick takes from opening night at Holt High School:

1. Coen Carr is going to be a complete player or die trying

For three summers now, Coen Carr has understood the assignment at the Moneyball Pro-Am — give fans what they want, be the show and dunk at every opportunity, and then pose for pictures and sign a whole a lot of autographs.

Carr again thrilled the crowd Tuesday night — with through-the-legs dunks and alley-oops with his chin at the rim. But he’s determined this summer to show his expanding game. He showed that Tuesday and then said it.

His goals for the summer …

“Show people I can shoot — I know I can shoot,” he said after his team won the middle of three games Tuesday. “Go out there, show I can handle the ball, make some plays for my teammates.”

So much of MSU’s next season rides on Carr’s continued development. He went from an occasional highlight-reel player that offered little else as a freshman, to a more polished two-way player as a sophomore, someone who was fluid in the half court offensively, a plus defender and, at times, a ferocious rebounder. His momentum-changing dunks last season were no longer accidents within the game. He created them on the drive and with the timing of his cuts to the basket and with how hard he ran in transition. He developed a Euro-step and the ability to knock down an open 3. All of it was a huge jump.

If, this season, he can create for himself and teammates — but mostly himself — off the dribble, and knock down outside shots with some sort of regularity, he’ll be in next June’s NBA draft. But that’s another big step. Tuesday, he showed signs of the game he’d like to have — a pull-up 3 over a defender, a catch-and-shoot triple from the right wing, a drive to the free-throw line before rising up and burying a 15-footer over a defender who was worried that Carr was headed to the rim. That looked like a shot that could be a weapon for him.

Team Motorcars and Michigan State's Coen Carr, center, moves to the rim between Team Fargo during the Moneyball Pro-Am on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at Holt High School.

The Moneyball Pro-Am is not the Big Ten in talent, defensive intensity or organization. But there are lot of Division I-caliber athletes on the court, especially the guys guarding Carr. More significant than anything Tuesday was his approach, because it was different than even last summer in terms of the shots he was taking and where he had the ball in his hands. He played the game like the alpha on the court. That’s who MSU needs him to be now. 

2. Hello, Cam Ward

Each Moneyball Pro-Am team can have two MSU players, per NCAA rules. There is no more marquee pairing than Coen Carr and freshman Cam Ward, both on Team Motorcars. If they win the league — and they beat Jaxon Kohler’s Team Faygo, 95-88, on Tuesday — they’ll do so in part because they also have guard Drew Lowder, the former Lansing Community College star, who played at Cleveland State and is now an oversees pro. It’s a nice trio. And the 6-foot-8 Ward is an important part of it. 

Performances at the Moneyball Pro-Am can sometimes be misleading. But never about this: Ward looks the part. He has good size to him, a body that’s more filled out than most freshmen. He’s going to play. There’s too much to his game and frame for him not to. He got schooled a couple times by Kohler on the block — you can see the difference in seasoning between them — but Ward is comfortable driving it and shooting from deep. He made one 3 from the top of the key that had the look of a shot he takes on a regular basis. I don’t know if he’ll be a 3-point shooter this season for MSU’s team, but that’ll be part of what he brings to the Spartans at some point. 

As for his role and position this season, be it on the wing or at power forward, here’s what he had to say:

“People ask me what (position) am I playing. I just tell them, ‘Whatever they need me to,’ because the system is so functional for everybody. There are no boxes that you're put in. You can do what your strengths are. So like in practice, you do what your strengths are. You can't shoot a post-up? Don't shoot a post-up. You shoot fades? You shoot fades. They're never going to put you in position to fail. They're going to play you to your strong suit. I think that's what they've been doing so far.”

I think there’s a chance he has a big impact this coming season.

3. Fort, Ugochukwu and some missing pieces

Cam Ward wasn’t the only MSU newcomer who had some notable moments Tuesday. Transfer Trey Fort is a guy who can clearly get to the rim against an athletic defender who’s actually defending him. He has some sizzle to his game and a terrific first step that helps him get downhill and create separation on his shot. We saw that Tuesday, along with a little bit of razzle-dazzle with his passes and a 360-degree layup that probably won’t fly in conference play. But he’s an athletic guard who looks like a 24-year-old. Because he is. MSU needs him and Kur Teng to provide consistent offense and shooting from the off-guard spot. More on Teng coming in another column coming shortly.

Miami transfer point guard Divine Ugochukwu also debuted Tuesday. He was brought in to play important minutes behind Jeremy Fears Jr. You can see Ugochukwu's quickness. But most interesting Tuesday was his 3-pint shot, which is not considered his strength. He made at least a couple from long range and looked comfortable letting it fly. It really stood out. We’ll see if he turns out to be one of those guys who can shoot it in the Moneyball Pro-Am, but not as well for MSU, or if this is an area he’s improved since his freshman season last winter in the ACC. 

Team Faygo and Michigan State's Divine Ugochukwu moves the ball against Team Motorcars during the Moneyball Pro-Am on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at Holt High School.

Freshman guard Jordan Scott didn’t play Tuesday, though he expects too soon. He had a wrap on his calf. Fears wasn’t there, presumably because he’s in New York with his younger brother at the NBA draft (which is Wednesday). And redshirt freshman big man Jesse McCulloch was wearing a boot on his injured right foot. He should be back from a stress fracture by August, but won’t play in the pro-am. He’s an important piece to this MSU team that we’ll have to wait to see.

Fears and Scott, however, should be playing by the time the Pro-Am returns July 8, after a week off for the July 4th Holiday. Those are two more players who’ll be interesting to watch this summer — Fears for growth in his game and continued physical recovery, and Scott to see if he might be ready to be a rotation player right away.

Of course, we still might not know. A year ago, we left the Moneyball Pro-Am thinking freshman Jase Richardson might have a role as a backup. He’s expected to go in the first round of the NBA draft on Wednesday.

Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Couch: 3 quick takes on Coen Carr, Cam Ward and MSU's basketball team from the Moneyball Pro-Am