Izzo lands his second recuit of the 2013 class

Submitted by artds on

Alvin Eliis, 3-star SG out of Chicago, Illinois, just committed to the Spartans yesterday.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/play…

This may be Izzo's weakest recruiting class since becoming head coach at MSU. It's certainly the weakest during the Rivals/Scout era. I have to wonder if something is driving this decline, or if it's just a fluke.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/commitments/2013/mic…

 

Naked Bootlegger

April 25th, 2013 at 8:49 AM ^

This is the year that I really thought Izzo would take a chance on a SG from Iron Mountain.   He has plenty of room in this class, and it would make a compelling storyline for the TV producer-types.  

artds

April 25th, 2013 at 3:33 PM ^

Oh believe me, they were still saying Parker or nothing even after Kearny tranferred to explain why they had no recruits so late in the game. They claimed they wouldn't take any commits this year after Parker burned them. Now they have 2.

backtoblu

April 25th, 2013 at 5:48 PM ^

Who is "they"?

I also thought they were "all in" on Parker because that was the only name I ever heard associated with MSU.  Granted I don't really follow basketball recruiting (ours included) so I don't know if they had offered anyone else or were looking at anyone else, but it seems like that scholarship plus the transfer they had (mentioned above, don't know who it was) down the road would make for two possible scholarships.  If that was the order then it makes sense why they suddenly had two available and then had to make a late season push to lure kids away from other, vulnerable programs like Minnesota.

Nick

April 25th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^

You saying "Izzo's time at EL is over" is the same as RCMBers saying "scUM had a lucky run in the tournament and once McGump and GR3 leave, they'll be right back at the bottom of the B1G"

There is enough talent for all the programs to succeed, especially if UM and IU start getting more national recruits.

Webber's Pimp

April 25th, 2013 at 9:38 AM ^

Izzo's recruiting struggles can be linked to our rise. While MSU has generally out recruited us for well over a decade, Izzo is no longer assured the top instate talent (see Walton in 2013). From here on out Izzo can expect us to battle step for step. Mind you Izzo missed out on Jabari Parker. He also didn't recruit Monte Morris (who is  a player both UM and MSU may regret passing on) or James Young (who ended up an Kentucky). Both of these guys were instate talents who could have easily ended up at East Lansing. 

Raback Omaba

April 25th, 2013 at 9:28 AM ^

Lets not let this past Final Four run cloud our judgement and basically make us MSU Football fans. Izzo is and will remain one of the top 5 coaches in te country. His track record speaks for itself and his teams are consistent contenders to go deep in the tourney every year.

This class is void of big names because it is small and they did indeed go all in on Parker. Say what you want, but Izzo IS going to make another serious FF run before his career is over and his team next year will most likely be a national title contender, possibly favorite if KY doesn't have something to say about it.

Our program is in the rise, no doubt - but lets not act like Izzo is on a significant down trend or anything. He is getting up there and may have lost a little magic, but still a top coach who will continue to field good teams.

Michael Scarn

April 25th, 2013 at 11:55 AM ^

I disagree with this title talk I've been hearing about state, if Payne leaves, and waiting this long might be a sign, their starting 5 is:

Gary Harris - Very Good

Appling - Overrated

Branden Dawson? - Good, not great.  Weaknesses include first name spelling.

Gauna?

Costello? 

They have NO quality size at the 4 or 5 if Payne leaves.  And Izzo's system requires a big, bruising dude with a soft touch around the net.  As much as MSU fans despise him, Mitch would have fit in Izzo's style perfectly.  

M-Wolverine

April 25th, 2013 at 2:54 PM ^

I think with another year under his belt you can expect more than "very good."  And if Payne comes back too, then that's a really good team. Sure IF he leaves they take a hit. But yeah, if Burke had stayed we'd be a better team too.

jamiemac

April 25th, 2013 at 9:41 AM ^

I would look out for MSU on the 2014 trail. They could hit the jackpot with a UK-lite type of class or fall short of that, but still reel in a couple of studs, Cliffy Alexander the most likely, or they could totally get pantsed and strike out entirely. 2014 is a make or break kind of class for them, especially if the B10 remains as strong as it is

dahblue

April 25th, 2013 at 9:48 AM ^

In the era of 1 (or 2)-and-done's, this is probably accurate.  Teams don't really need a ton of depth (like football) when they can just sign a fleet of high level talent the second the need appears.  If Izzo lost a couple of kids to the draft, it'd have been a different story.

ClearEyesFullHart

April 25th, 2013 at 10:36 AM ^

They also brought in a couple of 3stars in 2005.  I hope it is a trend that continues.  Recruits have pretty short memories.  Lot of weight on Appling's shoulders to advance past the Sweet 16 this year. 

MaiZedOuT

April 25th, 2013 at 10:47 AM ^

but I noticed we offered 4* QB Will Ulmer within the last day or so.

 

What should I make out of this? Depth? He's a dual-threat QB and 247 reports a 4.31 40.

WMU81

April 25th, 2013 at 10:55 AM ^

To bad Michigan keeps getting all the good Point Guards.. Appling is not a natural PG and Trice isnt that good. State better have a PG for 2014 or they could be in trouble.

Tater

April 25th, 2013 at 10:58 AM ^

I have been saying this for awhile now.  Tom Izzo made his reputation on Michigan's troubles.  For 10-15 years, he had instate and regional recruiting to himself, and the Detroit and Flint areas used to be gold mines for basketball players.  If Michigan and Sparty both wanted someone, all Izzo had to do was walk in, look at the parents, say "Fab Five Scandal," and walk out with a new player.  Also, Michigan had let their facilities rot.  

Now, Izzo not only has to recruit on even terms with Michigan, but he is recruiting an area that has suffered so much from the economy that there aren't nearly as many good players left.  The populations of his major recruiting towns have declined, taking some good players out of the "mix." 

Tom Izzo is proving that he never was as great as the media has tried to portray, but more of a Jud Heathcote v2: decent, but not great.  He may be fooling the media, but the NBA apparently isn't fooled anymore.  Izzo's market value has slipped so badly as a result of playing on a level field that he didn't even get an offer from the Cavs this time when their job opened up. 

Lately, especially this year, there is a new element that may make it even worse for Izzo: the gradual erosion and vilification of "fiery" coaches.  Coaches are going to have to be more like Beilein and less like Izzo, or the kids aren't going to go there and play.  

Is Izzo a very good coach?  Yes, but he isn't a great one, and he has to work a lot harder to build a team now.  I would say "good luck with that," but I can't, even in sarcasm, wish good fortune to someone who climbed to the top solely through his ability to negative recruit against Michigan.  

93Grad

April 25th, 2013 at 11:05 AM ^

no doubt helped Izzo (and btw- it was an Ed Martin scandal, not a Fab 5 scandal), I think you are way understating Izzo's accomplishments.  The guy bugs me too, but his record speaks for itself.  He has 5 or 6 final fours and an NC.  Not many coaches in history can say that.

backtoblu

April 25th, 2013 at 5:57 PM ^

By the time March rolled around, not much of it.  You're playing highly rated teams nationally and you can be paired up against anyone.  Like them or not, they did beat 1-seeds as well as lower-ranked seeds, so their ability to beat anyone and advance to X Final Fours and X championship games is still an accomoplishment.

SeattleWolverine

April 25th, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^

Izzo is way better than Heathcote. Heathcote won ~53% of his B1G games and won exactly half of them if we exclude tthe 2 years with Magic. Izzo has won like 70% of his B1G games and while Michigan's troubles certainly helped him build MSU up he's still way above the level they were at before. Even now, with us on the rise they are a top 10-15 caliber team. You're either shortchanging Izzo or else forgetting how much mediocrity Sparty had under Heathcote. Probably the latter. In the 80s Heathcote's Big 10 record was better than 10-8 just 1 time in 10 seasons and they went 6-12 or worse for 5 of those 10 seasons. There was a lot of bad Sparty basketball in between Magic and Mateen Cleaves.

Lucky Socks

April 25th, 2013 at 11:00 AM ^

He had one scholarship and put all of his eggs in the Jabari Parker basket. Missed there so took a chance on a Top 150 3 star that most teams would welcome. Offering Ellis, a former Minnesota commit, isn't a stretch either. Though I do wonder if it means Payne is gone bc he hypothetically doesn't have any room.



MSU is in the mix for studs in every class. We're back but they aren't going anywhere.