Michigan State basketball: Trey Townsend hopes have taken a massive hit

Michigan State basketball fans were somewhat hopeful Tom Izzo would pursue Trey Townsend, but those hopes took a big hit.

Monday was a rare eventful uneventful day for Michigan State basketball. What I mean by this is that nothing concrete actually happened, but there were a couple of major developments in the chase for a couple of star transfers.

The first was Frankie Fidler from Omaha who was expected to announce his commitment on a local radio station but opted to delay it. There’s no word about when he’s expected to announce, but the fact that Wisconsin was a huge leader heading into this past weekend’s MSU visit makes this feel like a good sign. Michigan State gave him something to think about.

The other was Trey Townsend. The Spartans were rumored to have reached out to Townsend last week, but on Monday, Joe Tipton reported that he had three official visits planned and none were to Michigan State.

Oakland transfer forward Trey Townsend (@treyt430), the Horizon League POY, has scheduled the following official visits, his agent @georgelangberg of GSL Sports Group confirms to @On3Sports:

Arizona – April 16-17
Ohio State – April 18-19
Louisville – April 20-21… pic.twitter.com/bLTb23KXqY

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 16, 2024

Townsend, the Oakland star who led the Grizzlies to the tournament, has trips planned to Arizona, Ohio State, and Louisville over the span of six days and he just visited Michigan. This makes it seem like the Spartans are probably prioritizing Fidler and his decision as to not rock that boat.

Justin Thind of 247Sports kind of alluded to the same thing.

It’s by MSU’s choice, fwiw.

They would’ve gotten a visit if they wanted one (and they probably would’ve wanted one, had they not liked what they see on the precipice)

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) April 16, 2024

Michigan State likely would’ve gotten a visit had Fidler not just visited and had he made a decision to commit elsewhere. But maybe the coaching staff feels really good about where they stand with him ahead of his announcement. If they miss out on Fidler, however, that will make this lack of a Townsend visit hurt — but there’s still time.

If all goes to plan, Fidler will make a decision within the week. If he picks MSU, there’s no need to pursue Townsend unless Izzo wants a smaller lineup — Fidler at the three, Townsend at the four, Xavier Booker at the five. But if he picks Wisconsin or someone else, Izzo can try to schedule a visit.

Either way, it looks like Townsend’s sights are set on other programs right now. Michigan State basketball will have to hope Fidler is the guy.