Michigan State Recruiting: Top 2016 basketball targets

Mar 29, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; The Michigan State Spartans mascot performs during the first half against the Louisville Cardinals in the finals of the east regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

While Michigan State recruiting seems to be all anyone close to the university is talking about these days, I’m here to further that with a discussion on the top targets for the 2016 basketball class. Tom Izzo’s recruiting issues have been well-documented in recent years because of his lack of desire for one-and-done players.

However, after the team’s Final Four defeat at the hands of Duke, Izzo vowed to change his recruiting style and it may cater to the direction in which college basketball is headed.

With that being said, Izzo’s 2016 class could, and should, end up being his best one since taking over as head coach about 20 years ago. Four-star power forward Nick Ward is the only player to already be committed to the class and he has been saying that he’s trying to bring in a couple of guys via his own personal recruiting tactics.

There were only 10 players who have been offered a scholarship by Izzo for the class and a couple of others who have shown interest despite not having an offer. Now that a few of those guys have committed elsewhere and there is less than a year before they have to make a decision, I think it’s time to look at who the Spartans’ top and serious targets are for the class.

Albeit there is a chance that all of the guys on this list head elsewhere for college ball, I believe the Spartans have at least a decent shot, if not a great shot for some, to land at least two of the mentioned players.

Let’s take a look at some of Michigan State’s top targets for the class of 2016.

Next: 4. Josh Jackson, SG, 5-star