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BB RECRUITING

Michigan State basketball: Jesse McCulloch shines in EYBL debut

A strong EYBL start for the newest Spartan commit.

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New Michigan State basketball commit Jesse McCulloch shined in his EYBL debut this week. How did the Spartan pledge fare?

ATLANTA – Jesse McCulloch committed to Michigan State basketball less than a week ago and now he’s in Atlanta playing on the top high school basketball circuit in the country. It’s Session One for the Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), a league run and funded by Nike.

McCulloch plays AAU for the Indy Heat Gymrats, along with five-star Kanon Catchings (Purdue pledge) and Jalen Haralson, a top 10 prospect in the country according to 247 Sports. The rest of the roster is rounded out by future college basketball players as well, the competition is that steep at EYBL. 

Saturday morning, Indy Heat was in a close game with Kansas City’s Mokan Elite. It was a back-and-forth game and McCulloch played extremely well both offensively and defensively. He was at his best down the stretch.

It was a tie game in the fourth quarter before McCulloch had a putback dunk to put Indy Heat up two. Then the next possession down he drained a corner three. That gave Indy Heat a five-point lead with just 1:07 left.

Indy Heat would go on to win with a final score of 71-62. McCulloch finished with 13 points and shot 55 percent from the field. Another positive? He nailed three 3-pointers at a 60 percent clip. A 6-foot-9 power forward with a consistent soft touch from deep could do wonders for the offensive spacing at the next level.

McCulloch also tallied eight rebounds, two offensive. He did all of this in 18 minutes of play.

The Michigan State basketball staff has to be pleased with McCulloch’s performance so far this AAU season. The EYBL is the closest he will get to the next level while still in high school. Playing with and against division one players is the best way to prepare him for college. 

If his play so far can translate we could be looking at another Spartan with the knack to make game-winning plays.

BB RECRUITING

Michigan State basketball prioritizing 5-star SG Isaiah Elohim

Elohim would be a heck of a 2024 addition.

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Michigan State basketball is one of six schools reaching out the most to five-star shooting guard Isaiah Elohim.

In a tweet from 24/7 High School Hoopsit was recently revealed that Michigan State basketball, among five other programs, is showing plenty of interest in highly-ranked shooting guard Isaiah Elohim from California.

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Elohim isn’t an athletic freak like Coen Carr, but has excellent size, speed, and athleticism regardless. He also has a good shot and excels at scoring the ball from around the court. It’s easy to envision him being the kind of guy in the future who can drop a flurry of jumpers and take over a game.

Elohim is currently attending Sierra Canyon in Los Angeles, Calif. This is big-time basketball school that has produced plenty of NBA talent, including Kenyon Martin Jr. and current Detroit Piston Marvin Bagley. It’s also the same school that Bronny James attended. The fact that Elohim was able to excel at such a prestigious basketball school (against excellent competition) gives me plenty of confidence that he can translate to the next level.

Tom Izzo will have to beat out other big-name programs such as Kansas, UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, and Baylor (who have also reportedly been showing interest) for the top-20 ranked shooting guard. Michigan State just capped off a top-five ranked class for 2023, but keeping the recruiting hot streak going for 2024 would be massive for the program. The more five-stars you have, the more five-stars you get — talent wants to play with talent.

Look for a visit to be scheduled soon.

It might be time for Izzo to land his latest five-star.

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BB RECRUITING

Coen Carr throws down incredible free throw line dunk (Video)

Coen Carr is a freak.

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Coen Carr
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Coen Carr flashed his elite athleticism once again, throwing down a dunk from the free throw line this weekend.

Incoming MSU freshman forward Coen Carr has displayed his extreme athleticism all offseason. It seems like every week a new video surfaces of him doing something mindboggling.

Today’s highlight shows Carr dunking from the free throw line.

This is something that most NBA players can’t even do but Carr looks like he is able to do this with ease and had the whole gym rocking in the video.

Coen Carr is one of four players joining the Michigan State Basketball program this season, joining five-stars Xavier Booker and Jeremy Fears as well as four-star Gehrig Normand. According to 247Sports, he is the No. 31 player in the class and No. 7 at his position. Carr was not always ranked this high, but his ranking skyrocketed during his senior season as he vastly improved his game.

Michigan State’s 2023 class is one of Tom Izzo’s best ever. The Spartans class is No. 4 in the country and is the best in the Big Ten. Each freshman will be ready to play day one and will mesh perfectly with the returning players.

What will Coen Carr do next? My guess is we won’t have to wait too long to see his next high-flying dunk shock the internet. He’s going to tear the roof off of Breslin next year.

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BB RECRUITING

Michigan State basketball makes top 7 for 4-star PF/C Tyler McKinley

MSU and Ohio State are the only Big Ten teams to make the cut.

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© Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State basketball has made the cut for one of the top 10 centers in the 2024 class, four-star Tyler McKinley.

Michigan State basketball is in the running for one of the top centers in the 2024 class as four-star Tyler McKinley released his top seven schools on Monday afternoon.

McKinley, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, is currently playing high school ball in Missouri and has become one of the top 10 centers in the 2024 class. He’ll be choosing between MSU, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Xavier, Virginia Tech, Alabama, and Tennessee. That’s quite the mixed bag as there are SEC teams, Big Ten teams, an ACC team, and some prominent local teams from where he grew up.

Tom Izzo will have to fight hard for this commitment.

The 6-foot-9, 220-pound center is ranked No. 60 overall in the 2024 class and he’s the 10th-best at the position. With his frame, he may translate more to a power forward at the next level and he could complement Jesse McCulloch in the post.

McCulloch also projects as a power forward so this would be an interesting target for Izzo if he were to make a heavy push here.

Flory Bidunga is likely the Spartans’ top center target in the 2024 class, but it looks like Indiana has a lead there while Cincinnati is also in the running.

Michigan State’s 2024 recruiting class currently ranks No. 10 in the nation after landing McCulloch and four-star wing Kur Teng this spring. Adding another top-60 recruit to the class would just be another sign that Izzo still has it and he’s not “washed” like some rival fans claimed a year ago.

McKinley doesn’t currently have a visit to Michigan State scheduled, but I’d assume that he sets some officials before making a final decision.

I’d expect the 2024 Michigan State basketball recruiting class to be three or four players deep.

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