BB RECRUITING

Breaking down Michigan State signees’ McDonald’s All-American performances

How did our guys do?

Published

2 months ago

March 29, 2023

Tyler Dutton

Tuesday night, Michigan State had two signees competing in the largest showcase for high school players, the McDonald’s All-American game.

High school’s top 24 recruits competed in the annual McDonald’s All-American game with the East team beating the West, 109-107. The annual matchup between the East and the West has seen countless eventual all-stars at the next level and beyond. Let’s look at how the soon-to-be Michigan State freshmen played during their time on the court.

Xavier Booker, the higher-ranked of the two signees representing Michigan State on Tuesday night, found himself in the starting lineup for the East. It can be difficult to stand out when you are surrounded by the nation’s best, and it seemed at times that Booker was lost in the shuffle. In 14 minutes of play time, Xavier would finish with just three points, a putback and a free throw, to go along with three rebounds.

Even if his performance wasn’t eye-popping, the 6-foot-10 center’s extreme length and ability to run the floor was on full display. Each possession, Booker was streaking down the court getting to his spot on the block, an attribute that I’m positive Tom Izzo and Co. were delighted to see.

The other Michigan State signee participating in the All-American game was point guard Jeremy Fears. Coming off the bench for the West, Fears garnered much praise and interest from the broadcast team when checking into the game. The four-star is expected to join the likes of Mateen Cleaves and Cassius Winston as one of Izzo’s best point guards.

Though Fears also had a quiet night, his command for the game was apparent. Even while sharing the court with the No. 1 point guard in the country and MVP of the West, Isaiah Collier, Fears still acted as floor general when given the chance. While his shooting wasn’t on display, finishing 0-5 shooting, Fears was able to show his vision by recording four assists, most of which came in impressive fashion.

Jeremy Fears already looking like a seasoned MSU PG. Absolute dime of a half court lob to a cutter for a quick bucket after a make pic.twitter.com/3Mj8YlqGnn

— ˢᵉᵒᵘˡʲᵃᵃ (@Seouljaa) March 29, 2023

Transitioning from your high school team where you are the go-to player, to sharing the court with two dozen other top recruits can lead to an off performance or simply getting lost in the shuffle. For the Michigan State signees, both were able to find some success on the court to showcase their abilities, but remained on the quiet side.

Outside of a few players, this was definitely the norm amongst most of the top recruits. Still, what the two of them were able to do during their time on the court was a great sign of things to come for the Spartans.

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BB RECRUITING

Michigan State basketball prioritizing 5-star SG Isaiah Elohim

Elohim would be a heck of a 2024 addition.

Published

1 week ago

May 24, 2023

Just Another Sports Fan

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 Hoops, it 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.

2024 5⭐️ Isaiah Elohim is one of the top players in the ‘24 class. He told me he’s hearing the most from these schools lately:

UCLA
Kansas
Arkansas
Kansas State
USC
Michigan State

He tells me he’ll be looking to start setting up visits in the coming weeks. #11 in the ESPN100. pic.twitter.com/4jTXncDCJL

— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) May 23, 2023

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.

BB RECRUITING

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

Coen Carr is a freak.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 21, 2023

Daily MSU

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.

Coen Carr taking off from the FREE THROW LINE 🤯 (via daddyharden/TT) pic.twitter.com/R8U8OKK5qP

— Overtime (@overtime) May 21, 2023

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.

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.

Published

3 weeks ago

May 15, 2023

Connor Muldowney

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.

2024 4⭐️Tyler McKinley just released his Top 7. Here are the programs he’s considering:

Xavier
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Cincinnati
Michigan State
Alabama
Tennessee

McKinley is an active, two-way forward who is a solid rebounder and good defender. #72 in the ESPN100. pic.twitter.com/9cDirxTS8f

— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) May 15, 2023

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.