Fresh Rankings for the 2013 MSU Basketball Recruits
by intrpdtrvlr on Aug 18, 2011 1:04 PM CDT
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PrintScout has released their first extensive rankings for 2013 and ESPN recently updated theirs as well. Rankings are an imperfect science and it’s great fun for fanbases to argue over who should be ranked where, what ranking service have a bias for whom, and whether a player is hurt by committing early. In the end, rankings are useful for those of us who can’t get out to see all these players. Because it's fun to debate and compare, I’ve updated the 2013 Hotlist to reflect any changes.
The recent shake-up has put some MSU targets in new positions. The big news is the rise of Troy wing forward James Young to a consensus five-star player. He still rests as a high four-star in the older Rivals appraisal but both ESPN and Scout have elevated him up a notch. He’s currently all the way up to No. 10 in the country on ESPN and No. 16 on Scout. This same summer that elevated his stock was viewed in person by Tom Izzo and staff so it may be difficult to hold off on offering much longer. Does he have to wait over two months for Gary Harris to decide or will Young's situation with MSU change before November? Can Izzo fit Gary Harris, Drake Harris, and Young all while holding a spot for Jabari Parker? One thing to consider – Parker is likely to be a one-and-done, meaning he might not effect a ’14 player like Drake Harris much at all.
A few other player-of-interest notes on the newer rankings:
Dominic Woodson, a big PF and the latest player to claim an MSU offer, debuted in the first Scout rankings as a four-star and the No. 87 player in the country. He’s leaving Texas and headed to prep school in Vermont. Does this increased proximity to the Midwest help MSU stay in contact or make Woodson more likely to head somewhere like UConn on the East Coast? MSU basketball historically does not pursue prep school athletes actively but they’re also looking at D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera so Izzo may be willing to make an exception.
After getting lots of good press over the summer, Flint PG Monte Morris has finally cracked a ranking, appearing at No. 50 on Scout (ahead of Derrick Walton and Demetrius Jackson. Curious.) Once talked about as neck-and-neck with Walton, his MSU interest could pick up with Walton off the board to Michigan. Right now, the staff appears to be focusing on Demetrius Jackson who intends to visit soon. Depending on how serious MSU is with him, the talk of passing on a 2013 point guard may have been hastier than originally thought.
The continued buzz around Detroit wing Byron Zeigler has paid off. His early rankings were surprisingly high but he’s done little to drop and now sits as the 37th player in the country according to Scout. In true ranking disparity, he’s only a low three-star on ESPN. Despite the full-house at Indiana, Zeigler has serious interest from the Hoosiers along with Michigan State, Iowa State, Indiana, Central Michigan and Xavier. Is Zeigler’s game strong enough to become a part of a busy wing roster at MSU as well?
Oh, and this guy named Parker is still outstandingly good.
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You are backwards
with scout and rivals, at least on the James Young section.
Thanks, fixed
I wrote “Rivals” for some reason when I meant Scout in reference to Young. Found one other small error too.
"And how much are intangibles worth? 10%? 20%?" - kj@theonlycolors
For Parker don't forget the new NBA bargining agreement
Who knows what comes out of that in terms of the one and done rule.
I am guessing players could be able to go straight to the nba, or stay in college 2-3 years. In that case he is going to the NBA right away from what I’ve heard of him Talent wise.
That would...
…be the best situation for college basketball, just like I think I recall Izzo saying at different times. But I’m not sure why the NBA owners or player would be in favor of it. Seems like the owners are going to feel better about drafting a player when they’ve seen he can go play college ball for a year, rather than this just H.S., so they’d prefer the one and done system. I don’t think they put it in originally to try to help out college ball, no matter what they might mumble to ESPN.
I’m not sure what the players union might think. But I’m just spitballing and I don’t really follow the NBA.
by witless chum on Aug 18, 2011 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions
I think that
Young and Parker are our biggest priorities. I’ve kind of lost faith in Gary Harris, at least compared to Smith-Riveria. Harris doesn’t bring anything Young and Drake Harris can’t, and DSR definitely does, with his PG ability.
Why no interest in Flint anymore
It seems strange that Morris is so far off the radar or so it seems.
I thought for sure Tucker was the target for PG-13, mainly based on info I read here sometime ago, but if not him certainly Morris would be the target. Yet Walton, Jackson, James and Matthews have all had either reported interest, upcoming visits or offers.
What about Morris? What about Denzel Watts?
I guess Hawkins is leaving or left Flint for prep school but why isn’t he the plan B to Gary Harris?
This championship program was built with a big assist from Flint, it doesn’t make sense that there’d be little or no interest in what appears to be a talented group of kids coming out of Flint.
Trying to recruit Chicago is a waste of time. Texas?
What about Flint?
Maybe the interest just isn’t being reported. I guess it’s possible some happenings can manage to avoid Twitter nowadays. We’ll see.
"the game is out there, and it's play or get played. That simple" - Omar
Interesting that you feel that way
Over the years I’ve consistently heard (from MSU fans and media hacks) that Izzo needs to hit the “national scene”. In fact some say it’s an indication that the program is not quite as big time as most MSU fans believe. Personally, I think Izzo has earned the right to run his program the way he wants, the way he’s been running things.
I cannot think of any reasons why a bball prospect from Chicago or Texas would not want to play ball at MSU. Hell, I can’t think of any reasons for non-athletes from Chicago or Texas not to come to MSU.
I must admit though, it’d be cool if there was always a connection to Flint town, Flint town, F-F-F-Flint town!!!!!!!!
Flint
I’m pro recruiting whoever best fits our program. Whether they’re from Flint, Florida, Texas, or California.
That being said, jumping in and nabbing recruits nationally is the next step to attaining “Duke” like status. Duke doesn’t just limit itself to Carolina / Virginia kids and I think the next step in our evolution as a program is to branch out and recruit the top 25 kids on a consistent basis. That could be 1, 2, or 5+ years down the road. But hopefully we get there.
The difference is
There’s way too many schools in the VA/Carolina area to only recruit there and Duke has recruited nationally for a long time. Coach Izzo has said that he recruits families and proximity is an important part of the equation and he’s been successful using the local formula. Who needs Duke like status? They can keep that. MSU is pretty good too.
Honestly I don’t care where the kids come from either, I just find it odd that not a lot of time is being spent on some talented Flint kids.
"the game is out there, and it's play or get played. That simple" - Omar
Re: Chicago
Those kids don’t want to leave the city or state.
The best of the best go to UK, Duke, KU, etc the next group goes to Illinois.
Illinois has a bonafide pipeline.
"the game is out there, and it's play or get played. That simple" - Omar
I'm a bit surprised too
Honestly, I don’t think the consensus is that Watts and Tucker are MSU talents so I’m not too surprised on that front. Morris more so. At one point in time, it was viewed as a toss-up whether you’d want Morris or Walton. Then, MSU focused on Walton with Demetrius Jackson behind. It almost seems late to get too active recruiting Man Man though I’m sure sudden MSU attention would change things. Morris has received some praise for his play. He may not have had the summer Walton did but he’s far from off the radar. I think what happens with Demetrius Jackson’s next visit will tell you a lot about where MSU is at with 2013 points.
It’s a good time to remind even myself how early it still is. A lot can change and scholarships are tight. Just because teams like Indiana and Michigan are racking up ‘13 and even ’14 recruits, it doesn’t mean much for MSU.
"And how much are intangibles worth? 10%? 20%?" - kj@theonlycolors
by intrpdtrvlr on Aug 18, 2011 10:03 PM CDT up reply actions
DSR
One thing to keep in mind re: DSR v. Gary Harris is that Izzo saw him play over 60 times this summer. He obviously wants him. Hondo Carpenter has said the coaching staff feel good about their chances (obviously, otherwise why would they bother recruiting him) but Hondo’s personal guess is that he stayed in-state, either at Purdue or Indiana. I’m not sure if it was the type of situation where he was around Harris so much he couldn’t help but see DSR play (a la Travis Trice) or he actively kept an eye out for a possible PG.
Either way, Harris would be an oversign right? Do we need a PG so bad that we’d oversign when the 13 and 14 PG class could be loaded and we’re in good shape with Jones (from what I’ve read) and/or presumably Monte Morris? Morris has been working with some guy named Mateen Cleaves. I’m sure Cleaves won’t push Morris, but it can’t hurt our odds.
If we whiff on Harris I’m fine with closing our class as is and looking ahead to 2013 and 2014.
It looks like Parker is priority one for 2013 and guys like James Young coming in as priority 1A targets. We’re getting tight on ships barring transfers / early exit for the NBA which at this point may be as far off as 2 years.
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When it’s all said and done, in Izzo We Trust.
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