The Big Ten is run by transfers and it’s time Tom Izzo catches up

The Big Ten is being run by transfers. Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have all jumped into the portal, it’s time Tom Izzo follows suit.

The college basketball landscape has shifted over the last five years. In today’s basketball, the transfer portal is just as important, if not more so, than traditional high school recruiting. Tom Izzo and Michigan State have always been at the top of the recruiting class rankings, but since the shift of college basketball, have refused to truly turn to the transfer portal.

Even with a top recruiting class, Michigan State is having immense troubles in Big Ten play.

At the moment, the Big Ten is being run by transfer players. Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have all jumped into the portal and are all leading the Big Ten. It’s time Izzo follows suit. 

Other Big Ten transfer leaders

Just behind Purdue, the Big Ten is being dominated by the likes of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota, with the Badgers possibly even being Final Four contenders. So what is one thing that each of these teams have in common? Utilization of the transfer portal. Terrance Shannon Jr., Dawson Garcia, and AJ Storr are all leading not only their teams in scoring, but all rank in the top 10 in scoring in the Big Ten.

Additionally, Illinois has Marcus Domask sitting just outside the top 10 at 13. Against MSU directly, each of these star players has torched the Spartans in their respective games. 

Outside of scoring, former Oregon star, now Indiana transfer Kel’el Ware and former Valparaiso and current Iowa forward Ben Krikke are third and fourth, respectively, in the Big Ten in field goal percentage. Ohio State transfer Jamison Battle is leading the Big Ten in 3-point percentage, and former VCU guard Ace Baldwin Jr. is fourth in assists, and first in steals. The list of transfer players leading not only their team, but the Big Ten, goes on and on. Each of these teams are easily meeting, if not exceeding their preseason expectations thanks to these transfer stars. 

Even MSU has seen success in the portal. But why not since?

What’s even more frustrating is that Izzo and Michigan State themselves have had tremendous success dipping into the portal. Tyson Walker has been an absolute home run of an addition. Walker leads MSU in scoring, minutes, and steals per game by a large margin.

After taking reasonable time to adjust from his smaller CAA conference to the Big Ten, Tyson has carried this team at times. He’s even cemented himself in a few of MSU’s record books. So why has Izzo not tried to replicate this success in the portal? Clearly Tyson Walkers don’t walk through the doors everyday, but based on the performance of other Big Ten transfers this year, it certainly can happen.  

Michigan State came into the year knowing if there wasn’t substantial growth from certain positions, they would be in some trouble. And that is exactly what we are seeing play out. MSU is struggling with a shocking amount of Big Ten teams, all of which are being propelled by transfer players. If Michigan State is to keep their elite status in the Big Ten, and in college basketball as a whole, Tom Izzo has to adapt or make a change.