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Michigan State Basketball: Do Spartans stand chance with Josiah James?

By Connor Muldowney

DETROIT, MI - MARCH 18: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during the first half against the Syracuse Orange in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March 18, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - MARCH 18: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during the first half against the Syracuse Orange in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March 18, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball made the top four of five-star point guard Josiah James. What are the Spartans’ chances to land him?

It’s almost September and Michigan State has still yet to land a single recruit in its 2019 basketball class. This may not seem like a big deal, but now is usually the time Tom Izzo has one or two commits and is looking to schedule officials to close out the class.

Must Read: MSU Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2018

Izzo is hoping to kickstart the class with one of the nation’s top recruits, whether it’s Keion Brooks, Rocket Watts, Harlond Beverly, Vernon Carey, Trayce Jackson-Davis or Isaiah Stewart. One name that should be getting more play is Josiah James, a five-star point guard from Charleston, S.C.

James is a legacy prospect and he’s ranked the No. 1 point guard in the nation and 12th-best prospect overall by the 247Sports composite. He received an offer from Michigan State in April and the Spartans have made up some serious ground.

In fact, he trimmed his list to four teams on Wednesday, Michigan State included.

Home-state Clemson made the cut along with Duke and Tennessee.

There’s good news and bad news regarding this top four.

The good news here is that the Spartans have ties to James’ father, who was a member of the basketball program back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The bad news, however, is that Duke is the overwhelming favorite to land him. The Blue Devils have a history of beating the Spartans out for top recruits, and this looks to be yet another case of that.

What are Michigan State’s chances? Looking at the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions, Duke holds 88 percent of the votes while MSU has the remaining 12 percent. That seems about right, though I’d probably put Duke at about 90 percent with the Spartans at 10 percent.

You can’t count Clemson or Tennessee out just yet, but it looks to be a two-team race.

Next. MSU Football: Top 50 players in program history. dark

Don’t get your hopes up, Spartan fans. James looks like a Blue Devil even though he could follow his dad’s footsteps in East Lansing.

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