The last few months for Carson Cooper have been hectic.
His career at Michigan State ended. Then, it seemed like it may not have ended with the NCAA’s proposed “5-in-5” rule, but the NCAA clarified that players like Cooper wouldn’t be grandfathered in. He graduated. He got engaged. Now, he’s figuring out where he’ll be playing professional ball next season.
Supposed End of College Career, 5-in-5 Rule
One thing that MSU fans might be thinking about is what things would be like if Cooper had redshirted during his freshman season. That was the original plan for the former zero-star recruit, but Cooper eventually averaged 6.6 minutes per game across 31 appearances that season.
He actually saw an uptick in playing time during March Madness, playing double-digit minutes during each game of Michigan State’s Sweet 16 run that season. Cooper had only played 10+ minutes during five games in the regular season. Obviously, though, if Cooper had redshirted, he’d be eligible to return to East Lansing for 2026-27, where he’d be playing a ton every single game.
“It’s tough,” Cooper said on a recent appearance on The Drive with Jack Ebling. “I think I was talking to my parents, maybe, about how I’ve never heard of so many people asking someone for a fifth year before, until all this stuff started coming around. It’s been all over the internet. People on the street are asking me, and I’m like, ‘Shoot, I know just as much as you guys do with the information going around and everything.'”…