As the MSU basketball team embarks on its self-proclaimed "Magical Journey," three high school seniors took the first step in theirs.
Wyoming Park point guard Drew Neitzel and forwards Marquise Gray of Flint Beecher and Goran Suton of Lansing Everett kept their promises to MSU head coach Tom Izzo by signing national letters of intent Wednesday to play for the Spartans next season.
Wednesday was the first time Izzo could speak about his incoming class, which included two players - Neitzel and Gray - who have been verbal commits to the Spartans since their sophomore years.
With so many high school players entering the NBA and the recent rash of decommittments in college basketball, recruiting has become a jungle, Izzo said. For example, 6-foot-8 Grand Ledge forward Al Horford, an Izzo prospect who axed his commitment with Michigan earlier this fall, became the latest oral commitment to Florida's 2004 recruiting class.
"One thing I've really appreciated about all three of these guys is once we got them here, they were dying to be here," Izzo said.
Izzo has one scholarship left this season, but the ability to use it will be dictated by the sort of player available.
"We definitely have one more (scholarship), and I'd definitely like to use it if we can get the right guy," Izzo said. "We will not use it just to use it, which makes sense. There are only a couple people we would use it on."
One of those people is Detroit Renaissance swingman Malik Hairston. The 6-6 guard lists Kansas, Michigan, MSU, Ohio State and UCLA among his favorite schools, but a lot could ride on where his Renaissance backcourt running mate Joe Crawford decides to go. Although he backed out on his oral commitment to the Wolverines, Crawford might find himself back with the maize-and-blue, forcing Hairston to look elsewhere for backcourt space.
Recruiting rumblings will continue throughout the year, but Izzo is satisfied with the product he's bringing to campus.
At 6 feet, Neitzel brings an interesting game to East Lansing with ambidextrous play. Born a right-hander, the guard shoots 3-pointers with his left hand, while settling with his birth hand to score inside.
Izzo said Gray is a more athletic Andre Hutson. With the knack to get after the basketball, the 6-foot-7 forward encompasses the get-to-the-glass mentality expected of Izzo-coached big men.
At 6-foot-10, Suton, the latest addition to the Spartan family, is a mix between Erazem Lorbek sprinkled with some A. J. Granger perimeter ability, Izzo said. Suton figures to fill in the void left by Lorbek, aiding the inside-outside talent of sophomore forward Paul Davis, barring an early departure to the pros.
Paul Day can be reached at daypaul@msu.edu.
