Welcome Aboard: Branden Dawson

(There's also a longer writeup from the same tournament here.)  It's particularly encouraging that both of those blurbs mentioned Dawson's shooting improvement.  Previously, that was one of the only knocks on his game.  There's also a concern that, at 6'6" and 200 lbs., he may have difficulty checking some of the Big Ten's bigger and stronger players.

But nonetheless, it's clear that Dawson is the real deal.  His rebounding skills are outstanding, and his numerous highlight films clearly show that 1) he's a relatively accomplished open-court player, 2) his driving and finishing skills are fantastic, and 3) oh man, he can rebound.  Best of all, there are indications that he doesn't have designs on a one-and-done college career.  He's a classic Tom Izzo player, and a tailor-made replacement for Durrell Summers.  (By contrast, Joe Rexrode compares him to Raymar Morgan.  Either way, fine with me.)

And there can be no doubt how badly Izzo wanted him.  A look on his Rivals page reveals that Tom Izzo was his primary recruiter--not Mark Montgomery or Dwayne Stephens, which is rare.  Izzo was present for many of his AAU games . . .

"Coach (Tom) Izzo, Georgetown and UCLA have been there for every game," he said. "They were even there when I was sitting out with a concussion, so that is nice to see."

. . . an effort which seems to have paid off:

James Dye, Dawson's summer coach with the SYF Players, confirmed that Dawson verbally committed to play in East Lansing, Mich.

Dye said Izzo formed a great relationship this summer with Dawson, who saw the six-time Final Four and one-time national championship coach at every game that Dawson played in over the summer.

"Branden saw something in that," Dye said. "Every game he played in, Izzo was right there in the middle of the front row watching BJ play. That meant a lot to him I know."

The other important note here is that bringing Dawson in really drives a stake through Purdue's recruiting.  Matt Painter wanted Dawson baaaaaaaad.  The Boilers have been following Dawson for a very long time -- and so have their blogs, as evidenced by the extensive Dawson file on the now-defunct Purdue Basketball Blog.  Taking the state of Indiana's top recruit from an area typically dominated by Purdue (as Rexrode says, this is akin to Purdue signing a top prospect from Flint) in a year when Purdue's national profile is nearly as high as ours surely serves as a warning shot -- that Izzo won't cede his long-term position at the top of the conference without a serious fight.

KJ has updated the projected basketball roster.  Barring unforeseen developments, the commitments of Dawson and AAU teammate Travis Trice (more on him tomorrow) mean that MSU's Class of 2011 recruiting is now complete.  2 scholarships remain for 2012.

In short, this is a massive recruit for MSU, enough to send the RCMB and MSU fans everywhere into a tizzy, and enough for us to forgive some slight failures in communication.  This also means that, amazingly enough, the 2011-12 season has the potential to be even better than next season for MSU, as a frontcourt lineup with Roe, Green, Adreian Payne, Branden Dawson, Garrick Sherman, and Alex Gauna could be an absolute monster.  Dawson's a recruit that even casual MSU fans should be excited about.