Carlos Medlock Jr. said playing in Wayne Memorial’s annual boys basketball alumni open gym Tuesday, Aug. 11, was nice because he hasn’t had a relaxing day in more than a year.
Not that he took the exhibition against 14 other former Zebras currently playing college basketball lightly.
But the incoming Michigan State freshman has done nothing but work since leading Wayne to a Division 1 state runner-up finish during the 2024-25 season.
Shortly after a 66-46 loss to East Lansing that March, he made the tough decision to leave Wayne and its stacked roster of talented returners to play his senior year at Link Academy in Branson, Missouri.
The switch paid off.
Medlock left Michigan as an incredibly talented but undersized point guard with mid-major interest from Central Michigan, Detroit Mercy, Murray State and St. Bonaventure. Not long after arriving at Link, he was rated a four-star recruit and the No. 7 point guard in the country by 247Sports.
Then came the Big Ten offers. Medlock wasted no time visiting MSU and signing with the Spartans that fall.
“Link was a great experience to prepare me for college, but I had to sacrifice leaving here, my hometown, and my friends,” Medlock said. “But being at Link pushed me to my limits and got me ready for college. It was like a college atmosphere, being far away from home and having to stick it out, grinding away with the other players and just competing every day. There wasn’t ever a laid-back day.”
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Put Medlock down as another prep-academy success story.
He walked into the finishing school with plenty of talent but lacked the college-ready body. He left one year later looking ready to play in the Big Ten from Day 1.
He went from 5-feet-11, 165 pounds to a solid 6 feet and nearly 180 pounds.
His game grew, too.
Medlock went from a ball-dominant point guard capable of scoring from anywhere on the floor to an all-around player who could pass, defend and do plenty more. Plus, his basketball IQ improved, something he believes will help him transition to the college game.
“Had I stayed at Wayne, I think I would still be the same player that I am today,” Medlock said. “But I think I wouldn’t have been as prepared for college as I am right now if I didn’t go. I feel like I know more going into college than I did being here.”
That experience certainly helped Medlock when he played in the Moneyball Pro-Am this summer at Holt High School.
The Pro-Am featured some of the top talent in the state, from recent Michigan Mr. Basketball winner KJ Torbert of East Lansing to current MSU starting guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and NBA G League forward John Ukomadu of Roseville.
Medlock proved he belonged.
Playing alongside former Wayne teammate Austin Tory, the 6-9 forward from Grand Valley State, Medlock averaged 36.2 points per game, the highest mark in the league. That included two 48-point performances.
He finished fourth in scoring with 317 points, just 39 behind MSU forward Cam Ward, who led the league with 356. Except Medlock played in three fewer games than Ward.
More importantly, though, Medlock showed what he can bring to the Spartans when he suits up for them in a few months.
“They are getting a fierce competitor and someone who really loves to work and win,” sixth-year Wayne coach Steve Brooks said. “He really is a Tom Izzo point guard, meaning he has all the leadership qualities that they need. It’s going to be really, really fun watching him there.”
Between Brooks’ time at Wayne and the 18 years he coached at Ypsilanti Community, nine of his point guards who started as true freshmen went on to play college basketball.
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But Medlock is unlike any other.
He was still in middle school when Brooks took over and began rebuilding Wayne. The coach often had Medlock and his AAU teammates scrimmage against the varsity when they were seventh-graders.
Those teammates? Recent Wayne graduate Jaylohn Allen, a three-star guard headed to Toledo; Old Redford’s Jaquan Stennis Jr., who at one point held a football offer from Michigan and seven Division I basketball offers, including Arizona, Penn State and Wisconsin; and current North Carolina receiver CJ Sadler, the Detroit Cass Tech football player who was considered the No. 2 recruit in Michigan a year ago.
“I hate to say this, but they would beat the varsity guys I had,” Brooks said. “But I knew back then that help was on the way and that we’d be starting them as freshmen because around here we don’t play grade level. We play skill level.”
Medlock hopes that rings true in East Lansing, too.
He’s accepted that he’ll likely play behind Fears, who was an All-Big Ten first-team point guard and All-American after starting all 35 games and leading the country with 9.4 assists per game last season. He also set the MSU single-season record with 328 assists.
But Medlock will see the floor. He knows it’s about making the most of his opportunities when they come.
“I just want to take a lot from Fears because he’s been playing there for years now,” Medlock said. “And I’m going to keep stacking days, competing vs. him and learning from him. I’m going to try to be a factor on the court and not just be the guy that’s playing behind him. I can go in there and be a factor and also be a leader on the court, too.”
A backup is something Medlock hasn’t been. And it’s not a role he wants to get comfortable with, either.
Right now, he’s probably not the one who will take the game-winning shot at the buzzer, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to stop working toward being that guy.
“You don’t know, right?” Medlock said. “I can score, and if I can continue to keep showing that, maybe I’ll get that opportunity.”
Leaving for Link was a big reason Wayne didn’t have the firepower to beat Birmingham Brother Rice in the state quarterfinals in March. The Zebras missed him. But playing out of state prepared Medlock to make an impact in the Big Ten.
That’s why playing in Wayne’s alumni open gym meant so much.
It was his last chance to play with his hometown friends before getting to work at MSU, where laid-back days will be few and far between.
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Follow him on X at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State freshman Carlos Medlock Jr. is a ‘Tom Izzo point guard’