2021 Five-Star Shooting Guard Max Christie Commits to Michigan State Basketball

The stars are starting to really pile up this summer in East Lansing as composite five-star shooting guard Max Christie gave his verbal commitment to the Michigan State Spartans today. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound 2021 class prospect is ranked the No. 1 recruit in Illinois, his home state, per Rivals, ESPN, and 247 Sports. Christie is also ranked the No. 1 shooting guard in the country, per 247 composite and 247, and he is No. 3 per ESPN and No. 4 per Rivals. As for nationally, Christie is the No. 13 overall in the 2021 class per 247 composite, No. 12 per 247, No. 13 per ESPN top 100, and No. 17 per Rivals.

Max Christie picked the Spartans over offers from 12 other schools, including Big Ten foes Wisconsin, Purdue (cue farcical complains from Matt Painter loyalists), Northwestern, Michigan, Iowa, and Illinois. More noteworthy is that Christie also passed on an offer from the Duke Blue Devils in his choice to verbally commit to the Spartans.

Max Christie is a rising senior at Rolling Meadows High School in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The skilled perimeter shooter has the size and arm span to shoot over most defenders, but the ball control and athleticism to dribble around them for a drive to the rim. Scouts have also praised him for his hard work and basketball IQ while predicting he has the potential to grow into a first round NBA draft pick. Obviously it goes without saying that a few seasons under hall of fame coach Tom Izzo can certainly help him there.

In his commitment broadcast, he was asked about the possibility of playing in the G-League. Christie stated that he believes he is “100 percent committed to MSU” and wants to experience college. If he is contacted by any teams, he probably wouldn’t take any offers.

As for how he will fit into the roster? MSU will just squeeze him in presuming Emoni Bates remains in the 2022 class, and no one else leaves the Spartans. However, I think we can safely expect that at a minimum Aaron Henry will depart for the NBA after next season if he returns for the 2020-2021 season. Kyle Austin has a handy chart below for a helpful visual.