Possible good news for the MSU men's basketball team has reached campus.
Grand Ledge senior forward Al Horford recalled his verbal commitment to Michigan, opening up his recruiting process once again.
Two weeks ago the frontcourt future of the basketball team looked to be in question, as three post prospects erased MSU from their list of top school choices.
There's little doubt that head coach Tom Izzo, though concerned, is on the lookout for replacements; the ever-resilient recruiter always seems to catch much-needed weapons for campus. With Alexander Kaun gone, Izzo was out on some top talent. The 6-foot-11 center from Melbourne, Fla. had snipped the Spartans from his list of schools for Duke and Kansas. Add that with an Illinois commitment by 6-8 forward Shaun Pruitt (Aurora, Ill.), and Izzo was looking to the Breslin Center's backyard for answers.
West down I-496 seemed a reasonable direction. But as the bad news piled up in the basketball offices, the 6-8 Horford verbally committed to play for U-M coach Tommy Amaker after an unofficial visit the weekend of U-M's 38-0 defeat of rival Notre Dame. Grand Ledge head coach Tony Sweet, who felt his forward's decision was sudden, said Horford got a little caught up in the emotion of the weekend. Sweet added that Horford's re-opening of the recruiting process is not to negate his commitment to U-M, but time to take his official visits, which he has yet to do.
Sweet said Horford told Amaker he will visit Florida sometime this month.
"He's just going to go to Florida and visit; that's what it is," Sweet said, assuring U-M is still in the picture. "He just decided he wanted to go and visit and see what's out there."
The present MSU roster includes four possible post options in the playing rotation - senior Jason Andreas, sophomore Paul Davis, redshirt freshman Delco Rowley and freshman Drew Naymick. But with the exit of Andreas after the season and the uncertainty of NBA defections, the guard-heavy roster needs bulking up. Flint-Beecher's 6-8 senior forward Marquise Gray is the only pivot player currently committed to Izzo's 2004 class. Lansing Everett's 6-9 forward Goran Sutton has whittled his list of collegiate favorites to MSU, LSU and Arizona State, with intentions to announce his choice in the coming week.
