Thursday night was a long time coming for junior forward/center Jaxon Kohler. A preseason foot injury derailed his sophomore campaign. He still played in 21 games during the 2023-2024 season, but Kohler did not live up to pre-injury expectations, through no fault of his own.

After an offseason full of putting on more mass and working on his game ahead of the 2024-2025 campaign, Kohler was the standout performer in Michigan State's 96-60 win over Niagara on Thursday night.

Kohler recorded career-highs in both points, with 20, and rebounds, with 13, against the Purple Eagles. He shot 8-for-12 from the field and only played 18 minutes. It was his second career double-double.

"On the court, it felt great," Kohler said after the win over Niagara. "On the court, it felt like I finally got to show people what I'm capable of. It's been a weird, difficult road and (on Thursday night) I felt like I really showed people what I could do. Not only that, but I can do more in the future."

Head coach Tom Izzo complimented Kohler's effort on the glass in his postgame press conference.

"He just went," Izzo said about Kohler. "As I tell our guys, effort-related things is a choice. It's a choice. Do you want to do it or do you not want to do it? You want to go or do you not want to go? You want to run or do you not want to run? Effort-related things are a choice and I give him credit. I told (everyone) he was the best player I had all summer and he did some good things."