One of the biggest question marks for the 2026-27 Michigan State roster is the center position. In the offseason, the Spartans lost Carson Cooper to graduation, and Jaxon Kohler opted to petition the courts to play his fifth year closer to home at BYU.
Cooper averaged 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last season. Kohler averaged 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds. Those are some big shoes to fill, both literally and figuratively.
Fortunately, the Spartans brought in some even bigger shoes, in the form of 7-foot-2 freshman Ethan Taylor and the equally tall senior transfer from Charlotte, Anton Bonke.
Taylor and Bonke are candidates to fill the void in the middle of the Michigan State roster, along with 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore Jesse McCulloch.
All three are expected to contribute, with the hope that one or two will develop into a consistent defender and a formidable offensive threat. If the Spartans are to reach their full potential and become the team fans expect, one that can compete for a Big Ten title, a Final Four, and beyond, they will need solid production from this trio.
But things did not start well in exhibition play, especially for Bonke. He originally received a starting role in the first game against Incarnate Word but finished with only four points and three rebounds in 15 minutes.
In the second exhibition contest against UConn, Bonke again started but played only six minutes, all in the first half. He totaled two points and three rebounds.
Things went from bad to worse in the final exhibition game in Milwaukee against Marquette. Bonke did not start, and his minutes were cut even further. He played three minutes, and his only recorded stat was a defensive rebound.
Luckily, those first three games do not count, and what happens in October in college basketball stays in October. But Monday night at the Breslin Center against the visiting Quinnipiac Bobcats, the lights went on for real. Everything counts from here on out.
Before the game, there was speculation that Bonke had sunk to third in the Spartans’ center rotation and might have difficulty digging out of that hole. But Michigan State coach Tom Izzo announced on his pregame radio show that McCulloch would miss the home opener because of a “minor, minor concussion.” That gave Bonke another opportunity to start.
Right out of the gate, the Spartans tried to get Bonke going with a scripted play. On Michigan State’s first possession, they fed him the ball in the paint. But eight seconds into the game, Bonke committed the Spartans’ first turnover of the young season.
“We went to Anton twice in the first two minutes,” Izzo said. “We went to him early in the first play. He dribbled off his foot.”
Bonke acknowledged later that he got a little sped up at the start of the game.
“I tried to make a quick move,” he said. “I should have just been patient and scored it.”
Michigan State center Anton Bonke talks to media in the locker room following Michigan State's 96-59 win over Quinnipiac in the season opener on Nov. 2, 2026 (Photo: Paul Fanson/Spartans Illustrated).
Three minutes later, Bonke showed another sign of first-game jitters. After receiving a pass at the top of the key, barely seven seconds into the possession, he launched a 26-foot 3-pointer.
The shot barely grazed the rim, and the ball landed harmlessly out of bounds. Before the whistle even sounded, Taylor was already at the scorer’s table.
Bonke was pulled after just over three minutes. Subscribe to read how he came back, what Tom Izzo said about it, and why one big man's night changed the center conversation.
