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Michigan State bolsters thin frontcourt by adding Ben Carter

All-Big Ten center Matt Costello is graduating. Fellow starter Deyonta Davis is off to the NBA. Key reserve Marvin Clark is transferring.

Michigan State had little choice but to explore the graduate transfer market in search of further frontcourt depth, and the Spartans appear to have found the late addition they coveted.

Ben Carter (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Ben Carter (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Former UNLV forward Ben Carter will transfer to Michigan State, he announced via Twitter on Wednesday. The 6-foot-9 senior has one year of college eligibility remaining and will be eligible to play right away for the Spartans next season.

A former Rivals 150 prospect in the Class of 2012, Carter spent the first two years of his college career at Oregon before transferring to hometown UNLV. He averaged 8.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 24 minutes per game for the Rebels last season before tearing the ACL in his left knee midway through conference play.

Carter likely would have returned to UNLV for his final season had many of his teammates not defected after the Rebels fired coach Dave Rice and bumbled their way through a lengthy coaching search. Instead Carter chose to look elsewhere in hopes of finding a program where he could contribute as a senior and have the chance to play for a winning team.

"When I really thought about it, I realized how I want my college career to end," Carter told RunRebs.com in a first-person essay explaining his decision to transfer. "I want it to end on a ladder. I want to stand on a ladder, cut down a piece of a net and look into the stands and see my father. I want to share that moment with him.

"I wish that moment could have happened at UNLV. Las Vegas is home, for me and my family. But as I looked at my situation objectively, I came to believe that the only way to achieve that moment was to leave and pursue it at another school."

At Michigan State, Carter is likely to be a key reserve.

Gavin Schilling will likely inherit the role of Michigan State's top big man from Costello. Six-foot-6 incoming freshman Miles Bridges will probably spend a lot of time playing undersized power forward. Carter and former walk-on Kenny Goins become Tom Izzo's most viable options to either play alongside Schilling when Michigan State wants to go bigger or spell him at center when he needs a rest.

Carter's transfer is one that appears to be a good fit for both sides.

Michigan State shores up its thin frontcourt with a reliable fifth-year big man who can provide low-post scoring, rebounding and rim protection. Carter gets the chance to go to a winning program and compete for championships the way he would not have been able to at rebuilding UNLV.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!