What Tom Izzo had to say about Michigan State's top-10 2024 recruiting class
EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo’s past and future are colliding.
Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of Jason Richardson signing with Izzo, Nov. 11, 1998. On Wednesday, the son of the former Michigan State basketball and NBA star put pen to paper to join the Spartans' 2024 class.
Combo guard Jase Richardson joined fellow four-star shooting guard Kur Teng and rising three-star forward Jesse McCullough in sending their National Letters of Intent to play for Izzo next season.
Izzo gave the normal compliments for the current three-player group, saying, “signing day is always great, especially when you think you had a good class.”
But the unique nature of adding the son of one of his former players he recruited – Jason Richardson helped MSU win the 2000 national championship as a freshman and led them to another Final Four in 2001 before turning pro – stands out for Izzo, who is in his 29th year as the Spartans’ head coach. Steve Smith’s son, Davis, currently is a senior walk-on guard, but Izzo was an assistant at MSU when the older Smith signed with and played for the Spartans.
“I never put Jason and I told (Jason) early on, ‘I'm never going to make this about you and us. I'm going to recruit Jase as a player, not because of his dad.’ … And it wasn't easy,” Izzo said Thursday. “I think as a player, there's really a thrill about playing where your dad played. And as a player, there's really an interest in kind of braving your own trail. And so I understood that, and we were really up-front about that from Day 1.
“What I liked about it, when it was over, I think he was really excited, and I think his family was. And that's important to me.”
Here is what Izzo said about his three-man class that’s currently ranked No. 7 in the nation by 247Sports.com’s composite rankings, while adding he believes it could potentially grow to four by the time the cycle is completed. The early period ends next Wednesday, and the regular signing period reopens April 17.
Jase Richardson, CG
Height/weight: 6-3, 180
Hometown: Denver (Columbus High School, Miami)
247Sports.com composite ranking: No. 33 overall (4 stars), No. 3 combo guard
Izzo’s thoughts: “He had a knee injury two years ago. I saw him play and he was good, but he was just coming back. I saw him last summer, and his game is elevated to a whole new level. And now he's even taking it to another level. I think the health of him has made a big difference. He can pass it, he can shoot it, he can defend it, and he can rebound it. He's a very aggressive rebounder. As he gets stronger – and maybe that would be the only thing right now, as he gets stronger like his dad went through – I think this kid has a chance to be one of the great combo guards, because I think he can do it in a lot of different ways, that we've had.”
Kur Teng, SG
Height/weight: 6-4, 185
Hometown: Manchester, N.H. (Bradford Christian Academy, Massachusetts)
247Sports.com composite ranking: No. 40 overall (4 stars), No. 8 SG
Izzo’s thoughts: “We think he's got a body that will be more ready to play, because we very well could lose three guards. … The body, the build, we thought he could be a Big Ten guard. And then the fact that he can shoot it - he's got a mid-range game, he's got a long-range game, he can shoot the ball. And right now, let's face it, there's a premium on being able to shoot the ball. And if you got size and you can defend it and you can shoot it at the same time, that's a positive. We got to know him, we got to know his family. It was just the right fit for us. And hopefully, that's why he thought it was the right fit for him.”
Jesse McCullough, PF/C
Height/weight: 6-10, 225
Hometown: Cleveland (Luthern East High)
247Sports.com composite ranking: No. 129 nationally (3 stars), No. 27 C
Izzo’s thoughts: “He can really shoot the ball. But that wingspan, he's got a body that can, I think, put on some good weight. We project him as a guy that could really, really, really help us down the road, because he's got all the measurables. And yet he's got a dad who pushes him, a coaching staff who pushes him, and he seems to love the game. There's not a lot of big guys that love the game. And that's been one of the things that attracted us to him. He loves the game. He communicates on the court. He's a good student. He's got some things to improve on, but there's a lot there to work with.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What Tom Izzo said about Michigan State's 2024 recruiting class
