If the MSU basketball team is lacking one thing, it would be depth in the post.
The Spartans took a step in the right direction Wednesday when Lansing Everett senior center Goran Suton orally committed to MSU.
"I'm going to stay here and be a Spartan," Suton said in Everett's Earvin "Magic" Johnson Gymnasium.
With the early exit of freshman Erazem Lorbek last season and the possibility that sophomore Paul Davis might leave early if he has one or two spectacular seasons, the Spartans' most pressing need was at the center and power forward position.
When Florida Air Academy star Alexander Kaun, who orally committed to Kansas, eliminated MSU as one of his potential schools, the Spartans put more effort into recruiting Suton. He is ranked as the No. 12 center in his class by rivalshoops.com.
Suton came to the United States from Bosnia before his freshman year at Everett. He had a successful sophomore season before a knee injury slowed him down and he struggled some in his junior year.
"It was like a dream, when I first got here, to play at Michigan State," Suton said. "I never thought I'd make it so far. I've been working hard. The injury slowed me down during the end of my sophomore year, and I reached one of my goals."
The center said that he was much more comfortable with the coaching staff at MSU, including head coach Tom Izzo and assistants Mark Montgomery and Dwayne Stephens. He made the decision over the weekend, told Izzo on Monday and called to inform Arizona State on Tuesday.
"We were over at his house Saturday and we talked about the pros and cons of each school," Everett coach Johnny Jones said. "He told us 10 things that he liked about Arizona State and 10 things that he liked about Michigan State and then he couldn't decide.
"In the end, you have to really go with your heart. So he went with his heart and it was a great decision for him."
Suton joins Flint Beecher's Marquise Gray and Wyoming Park's Drew Neitzel in the 2004 recruiting class. MSU still has one scholarship remaining for that season.
