Michigan State basketball has reportedly reached out to Oakland’s Trey Townsend

Michigan State basketball is reportedly one of the growing number of programs that have reached out to Trey Townsend.

We’re currently right in the thick of transfer portal season in college basketball, and it looks like Tom Izzo doesn’t plan on missing out. Per Tony Paul of The Detroit News, Michigan State basketball is one of the schools that has already reached out to standout Oakland forward Trey Townsend.

Among schools that Oakland’s Trey Townsend has already heard from:
* Michigan State
* Michigan
* Tennessee
* Louisville
* Arizona
* UCLA
And many, many more.

— Tony Paul | Detroit News (@TonyPaul1984) April 11, 2024

The 6-foot-6, 228-pound power forward just finished up an outstanding season in which he averaged an impressive 17.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game for an Oakland team that made the second round of the tournament.

Even more impressive, Townsend also took home the Horizon Player of the Year award, as well as the Lou Henson Award — presented annually to the most outstanding player in mid-major basketball. His play backs up his accolades, too — he’s ferocious on offense, relentless on the glass, and has a physical, never-back-down playstyle. Townsend has tirelessly put in the work and honed his game until it’s elite. He’d be an absolutely huge add for a Michigan State basketball team that needs an injection of talent.

As is to be expected, other top programs will come calling (and many have already), but Michigan State may actually have the edge here. Not only did Townsend play his last four years of college ball at Oakland, the talented forward was born and raised in Oxford — both places are less than an hour and a half from Michigan State. He’s a 100 percent Michigan homegrown talent, and that may prove to be extremely advantageous in the Spartans’ pursuit.

If the former Golden Grizzly were to end up in East Lansing, though, the situation with the starting lineup does get a little more interesting. Townsend will probably slot in at power forward, which was the spot rising star Xavier Booker was previously projected to occupy. As a result, it seems likely that Booker would shift over to the center position. That may not sound ideal at first, but if Izzo were to get the chance to put together a Townsend-Booker frontcourt, the Hall of Fame coach would make it work. That’s just too enticing of a pairing down low. Besides, Booker has every tool he needs to play center anyway — he played plenty of it in high school and has prototypical size for the position at 6-foot-11.

Alternatively, Izzo could deploy Townsend in a kind of attacking small forward role, keep Booker at the four, and start someone else at center. Either way, it likely wouldn’t be an issue. There’s just too much talent and skill there to fail.

In a nutshell,  Trey Townsend would be a extremely impressive addition for Tom Izzo and Michigan State. The role that former Oakland star would play in East Lansing isn’t immediately clear, but one thing is — he’s a high-level player, and is going to make an instant impact wherever he goes.