Reaching his seventh Final Four as head coach of the Spartans this past weekend, Tom Izzo could very well be on this way to a second consecutive appearance in the national semifinals after landing his second McDonald's All-American on Friday.
Caleb Swanigan, who held offers from Kentucky, Duke, Arizona and Cal, who were rumored to be the clear cut favorite to pick up the No. 8 ranked recruit by ESPN, tweeted out that his verbal commitment to MSU, stating "Once a spartan. Always a Spartan."
Next year I will be going Michigan State university. Once a spartan. Always a Spartan
— Big Sauce (@Biggs_Swanigan) April 10, 2015
The addition of Swanigan gives the Spartans the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation, behind only Kentucky, joining Michigan's Mr. Basketball Deyonta Davis, Kyle Ahrens, and Matt McQuaid. Eron Harris will also be in the mix after sitting out for a year following his transfer from West Virginia.
Swanigan brings an athletic body who has the ability to out muscle opponents down low in the paint due to his size and strength. With impressive ball handling skills for a big man, the 6-foot-9, 290 pounder is unselfish with the basketball and can pull up for the jumper when needed.
This is the first time since 2003 when Brandon Cotton and Shannon Brown committed that Izzo has collected two McDonald's All-Americans with Swanigan and Davis. Current Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor were the first duo to take their talents to East Lansing back in 2000.
Leading Homestead to a state championship this season, Swanigan averaged 22.6 points and 13.7 rebounds, becoming the second Indiana Mr. Basketball recipient to commit to MSU this decade, proceeding Gary Harris back in 2012.
Check out his highlight tape at the Spiece Indy Classic earlier this year:
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
