The MSU basketball team received its first verbal commitment in a top 25 recruit for its 2003 recruiting class.
Detroit DePorres junior point guard Brandon Cotton, widely considered a top prospect, told Spartan head coach Tom Izzo Monday that the two-year starter plans to don the green and white.
Cotton said Izzo was the deciding factor in choosing MSU.
“Coach Izzo wins a lot and produces good players,” Cotton said Monday night. “He puts his players in a position to become pros.”
Cotton turned down offers from Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, Purdue and Detroit to join the Spartans.
“I knew I was coming to Michigan State,” Cotton said. “I wanted to wait until my season was over so I wouldn’t be a distraction to my teammates.”
The 6-foot, 165-pound guard averaged 28.7 points a game for the Eagles (17-4) last season.
Monica Smith, Cotton’s mother, said her son always has favored MSU.
“He really liked the coaching staff and what the school represented,” Smith said. “He always leaned MSU’s way.”
TheInsidersHoops.com has Cotton ranked as the nation’s 14th-best recruit for the 2003 class. The site ranks Cotton the third-best point guard.
“He’s one of the better combo guards in the country,” said Dave Telep, a recruiting expert for TheInsidersHoops.com. “Off the dribble he’s really good.
“Brandon Cotton can get to the basket, there’s no question.”
Telep said Cotton’s verbal commitment gives the Spartans a good start to the 2003 recruiting class.
“He’s a top 25 player in the nation,” Telep said. “Whenever you can add a guy like that to get it rolling, it’s a good thing.”
