Kur Teng ready for bigger role with Michigan State after offseason surgery

Kur Teng’s sophomore season showed what he can bring to Michigan State. Now, after spending much of the offseason recovering from foot surgery, the junior guard believes he is ready to take another step.

“I feel like I’m ready now, to be honest with you,” Teng said. “Just keep stacking up practices, stacking days and continue to get better.”

Teng enters his third season in East Lansing coming off a breakout sophomore campaign. After playing sparingly as a freshman, Teng appeared in all 35 games during the 2025-2026 season, making four starts and averaging 7.3 points in 17.4 minutes per game. He emerged as one of Michigan State’s most consistent perimeter threats, shooting 38.1% from 3-point range and finishing second on the team with 56 made 3-pointers.

His improvement became especially noticeable during Big Ten play, when he scored in double figures 13 times throughout the season and made at least two 3-pointers in 17 games.

Perhaps the best example of Teng’s development came late in the regular season at Indiana. He poured in a career-high 18 points and knocked down six 3-pointers in Michigan State’s 77-64 victory. The performance came despite some early defensive mistakes that drew the attention of head coach Tom Izzo. Instead of allowing those mistakes to take him out of the game, Teng responded on the offensive end.

That balance between offense and defense remains important as Teng prepares for an expanded role.

“We got all the talent in the world, but basketball’s played on both ends,” Teng said. “We gotta show we can (play) on offense just as much as defense.”