Michigan State basketball: Frankie Fidler development can’t be bad

Michigan State basketball may have gotten the best news it could’ve hoped for with Frankie Fidler delaying his commitment.

Frankie Fidler was getting set to make an announcement on Monday morning to tell his four finalists where he’d be headed for his senior year of college basketball. Nebraska, Creighton, Wisconsin, and Michigan State basketball were all waiting patiently only for something unexpected to happen.

Fidler, who revealed a commitment date earlier last week before his MSU official, delayed his decision.

Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler won't be announcing his transfer destination this morning after all, per AM-1620 in Omaha. Visited MSU over the weekend. Wisconsin, Nebraska and Creighton are his other finalists.

— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) April 15, 2024

Normally, this type of development means one thing: Fidler has a lot more to think about than he expected.

Presumably, heading into the weekend, Wisconsin was the heavy favorite to land him. His good friend and high school teammate Chucky Hepburn is a Badger and the thought of teaming up at the high-major college basketball level has to be intriguing. But Michigan State got the last visit and obviously gave him something to think about. By all accounts, Wisconsin was going to pick up his commitment on Monday barring a shocking turn of events, but this delay in his announcement could mean the Spartans made up enough ground to make it a battle.

This is all speculation, but that seems to be the consensus opinion of those who are following this recruitment. Wisconsin was the leader heading into the visit and he’s delaying a previously-scheduled decision in order to ensure he’s making the right choice.

Does he want to go to Wisconsin and be a top option on a team that may not have a Big Ten title-contending roster next year or does he want to be the final piece to Michigan State’s puzzle (hopefully along with a transfer center)?

Either way, it seems like Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball have done enough to make this one interesting. Let’s hope the Spartans not only made up ground, but took a slight lead.