Michigan State basketball has to like where it stands with 5-star SF Jalen Haralson

Jalen Haralson is right at the top of the Michigan State basketball recruiting board and Tom Izzo has to like where he stands.

The connection between Michigan State basketball and La Lumiere is a storied one.

It goes back to Jaren Jackson Jr. and even Brian Bowen (I know this name still brings up bad memories) and the connection is as recent as Jeremy Fears Jr. in the 2023 recruiting class. Michigan State has somewhat of a mini pipeline to the highly-regarded program from Indiana.

So when the Spartans began recruiting Jalen Haralson and then he transferred to La Lumiere, it was no surprise that the connection felt obvious. While he didn’t start at La Lumiere, his transfer there had to come with some calls from Jackson and Fears.

The Indiana native is one of the best prospects in the 2025 class, ranking No. 13 overall and he’s the No. 2 small forward, according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s also the No. 1 prospect in the Hoosier State.

Just this past weekend, he took an official visit to East Lansing for Michigan State’s “Grind Week”.

What is Grind Week? It’s when former Michigan State players come back to interact with the team, get some workouts in, and just spend some time in East Lansing. We saw plenty of familiar faces in East Lansing like Cassius Winston, Xavier Tillman, Jackson, Kalin Lucas, and Matt McQuaid. It was cool to see everyone come back and support the program as well as Tom Izzo.

And it had to be a heck of a recruiting tool.

Haralson seemed to enjoy his visit because following that official, he canceled his upcoming trips to Kansas and Missouri and moved up his Purdue visit because of a nearing decision, per Eric Bossi.

Five-star senior Jalen Haralson tells @247Sports that he has canceled his visits to Kansas and Missouri. He has also moved up his Purdue official visit and is nearing a decision. https://t.co/SDKyia7RPq pic.twitter.com/2mXzKMPFff

— Eric Bossi (@ebosshoops) September 15, 2024

To me, this means that Michigan State made a big enough impression on Haralson that he was able to narrow his list down. He already took trips to Indiana and Notre Dame before Michigan State and now he’ll visit Purdue this weekend. That means that he is likely down to the schools he’s already visited and has a good idea of where he’s going.

What prompted this move? A visit to Michigan State.

I’m no recruiting expert, but it feels like whenever a recruit takes a visit and immediately cancels other trips and moves up a commitment timeline, it means that whatever visit he was just on made a huge impression on him. It feels like that recruit commits to that school a majority of the time.

Maybe I’m wrong and maybe he’s headed to Indiana or Purdue, but Michigan State has to like where it stands now compared to before his visit.