​It may have only been out of necessity due to recent injuries to Jesse McCulloch and Cam Ward, but in last night’s blowout win over Toledo, along with their first win over Quinnipiac, Michigan State basketball has been using a new-look starting lineup, and the numbers have been extremely favorable for that group. The lineup has featured one move that many, including myself, have clamored for for years as well. Let’s get into it.Cam Ward has been slowly reintegrating himself back into the rotation after dealing with a minor ankle injury during the offseason, and Jesse McCulloch, who had a strong showing in the preseason, has had a concussion. This led to the following players getting an opportunity in the starting lineup in the first two games this year:PG Jeremy Fears Jr.SG Jasiah JervisSF Jordan ScottPF Coen CarrC Anton BonkeFor reference, in their preseason game against UConn, the Spartans started:PG Jeremy Fears Jr.SG Jordan ScottSF Coen CarrPF Cam WardC Anton BonkeStarters tonight vs Toledo 🏀 pic.twitter.com/OVZ8sTFqZN— Michigan State Men’s Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) November 6, 2026This change has led to a few interesting developments:Coen Carr at power forward. This is probably Carr’s natural role in college, but he’s been playing small forward for years. The largely unspoken reason is partially because of the power forwards that have been on the roster with him, but I also think playing Carr at the small forward position has been an effort to help his development into a potential pro player. At 6-foot-6, Carr is a few inches too small to play power forward at the next level someday. Learning how to slot in at the three would benefit his odds of making it to the NBA tremendously, but it does come at the expense of MSU’s ceiling. In college, Carr is more than capable of playing the four, and it is much easier to hide his lack of shooting at that spot.Jordan Scott at small forward. Jordan Scott is one of the top three best players on this team. If you want to say he’s top two, I won’t argue with you. He can probably play three positions if he had to, and guard up to four on defense. However, I am of the belief that he is most natural at small forward, on both ends of the floor.Jasiah Jervis in the starting lineup. Sliding everyone up a spot has allowed freshman phenom Jasiah Jervis to earn minutes as a starter, and he’s, uh, looked pretty good. Jervis led all scorers on Thursday with 16 points, drilling four three-pointers for the Spartans. While Izzo was still a little critical of Jervis’ defense, I think Jervis can be a strong two-way player. He could be a Max Christie, Joshua Langford-style two-way shooting guard for this group.More space for Fears. I love Cam Ward. But I think if the team does decide to move Coen Carr back to small forward, they will need to install Jesse McCulloch in that power forward spot over Ward. Having Coen Carr and Cam Ward as your two forwards just shrinks the floor. Since Jeremy Fears Jr. still isn’t exac