Tom Izzo has been hoping to get Jaxon Kohler back before Christmas and he provided an update on his sophomore big man.
The Jaxon Kohler foot injury continues to be a major talking point among Michigan State basketball fans. Our hope was to have him back soon, but that unfortunately doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. It appears a minor setback has taken place that will keep Kohler on the sideline for a little longer.
Tom Izzo discussed his injury after the win over Oakland on Monday night.
Tom Izzo gives update on Jaxon Kohler’s injury
A few weeks ago, Izzo made it seem like Kohler would be returning to action right around now. Unfortunately an update provided by Izzo extends Kohler’s timeline a little longer.
According to MLive reporter Kyle Austin, Izzo shared that “Kohler has been shut down until after Christmas due to a little soreness in his foot.”
Those quotes are a huge sigh of relief. It’s nice that Kohler’s setback isn’t significant and is only being treated as a precaution. Michigan State does have a few easier games on our schedule as well as a week off around Christmas, so there really is no need to rush him back.
Significance of Jaxon Kohler’s return
Jaxon returning is going to be huge for the team. With the team now starting to flex their muscles, I think Jaxon will be coming back at the perfect time. The one thing we’ve been missing this year is a legit post scoring threat. Mady Sissoko and Carson Cooper have their strengths, but Jaxon Kohler is by far the best offensive post player. He is able to get the ball in the post and create his own shot, something we haven’t really had all season.
Kohler being that threat down low will also open things up for our guards. Teams will have to respect Kohler when he has the ball, so that will open up more kickout shooting opportunities. This also will open up driving lanes now that defenders will have to guard our post player more tightly.
All in all, Kohler’s return will be a welcomed site for Spartan fans. Our team will finally be 100 percent healthy this year and we can finally see how good we really are.