Michigan State basketball continues recruiting roll, lands 4-star SF Coen Carr

Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press
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EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo is catching up to Mel Tucker in a banner summer of recruiting for both Michigan State programs.

Four-star 2023 prospect Coen Carr announced his commitment to the Spartans basketball program Tuesday night. The 6-foot-7, 200-pound small forward chose MSU over finalists Indiana, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

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Legacy Early College's Coen Carr dunks during the LaLumiere vs. Legacy Early College NIBC Tournament basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 at the LaPorte Civic Auditorium.
Legacy Early College's Coen Carr dunks during the LaLumiere vs. Legacy Early College NIBC Tournament basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 at the LaPorte Civic Auditorium.

In doing so, Carr becomes Izzo's fourth big-time recruit for next season. He joins power forward Xavier Booker, considered by rivals.com the best player in the 2023 class, as well as two other four-stars in Jeremy Fears and Gehrig Normand.

Carr played last season at Legacy Early College in Greenville, South Carolina — coincidentally where the Spartans lost to Duke in the NCAA tournament second round in March — after playing his first two seasons at Dutchtown High in Hampton, Georgia. The Houston native by way of Stockbridge, Georgia, is rated the nation's 11th-best small forward and 57th overall player for 2023 according to 247Sports.com's composite rankings.

Adam Finkelstein, director of scouting for 247Sports, recently called Carr “an extreme athlete and perhaps the most violent leaper” in his class.

Dutchtown's Coen Carr (11) blocks a shot from Clarke Central's Kahari Dean (33) during a playoff basketball game between the Clarke Central Gladiators and the Dutchtown Bulldogs at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Dutchtown was up big early on and held onto a narrowing lead in the second half to beat out Clarke Central 72-64 and advance to the next round of the playoffs. (Casey Sykes for The Athens Banner-Herald)

“He already defends bigger guys defensively and moves his feet well enough so that he should have versatility on that end. He’ll even show glimpses of being able to make a quick play with the ball in the open floor,” Finkelstein wrote. “In short, his athleticism is his calling card and that alone makes him a high-major prospect, but I believe there’s potential to be much more than just a finisher down the road.”

MSU entered Tuesday with the No. 5 class according to 247Sports before Carr's commitment.

MORE MSU: Top 2023 power forward Xavier Booker commits

ANOTHER ONE: 4-star forward Gehrig Normand commits

UPDATE: MSU commit Jeremy Fears joins Overtime Elite, keeps NCAA eligibility

Fears, a 6-foot point guard, was the first to pledge to MSU in January. Booker, a 6-10 power forward, committed to Izzo on July 30. Normand, a 6-6 swingman, joined the class Aug. 2.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball recruiting: 4-star SF Coen Carr commits