Michigan State basketball makes top 3 for 5-star C Trayce Jackson-Davis

Michigan State basketball has made the cut for one of the top recruits in the 2019 class, five-star center Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Tom Izzo has been working hard this offseason not only to repair an image that was tarnished by an ill-advised ESPN graphic but also on the recruiting trail.

Must Read: 5 reasons Michigan State can pull off upset of Penn State

Michigan State had fallen on hard times during a tumultuous season with a plethora of off-court distractions and lost a disappointing second-round matchup to Syracuse. Still, Izzo kept at it, following up with some of the nation’s premier recruits for the 2019 class.

The Hall of Fame head coach has already landed his future point guard — or combo guard — in four-star Rocket Watts and he’s looking to build on that with two, maybe three, more commits.

One of those could be five-star center Trayce Jackson-Davis from Greenwood, Ind., who released his top three schools on Friday evening.

Along with Michigan State, both UCLA and hometown Indiana made the cut as the Hoosiers are looked at as the major favorites.

Jackson-Davis is fresh off a visit to East Lansing for Michigan State Madness last weekend and that came just seven days after taking a trip to Bloomington to see what the Hoosiers had to offer. Indiana is an up-and-coming program in the Big Ten — once again — with Archie Miller at the helm and it wouldn’t be all that shocking to see him stay close to home.

The 6-foot-8.5, 235-pound center has a good feel for the post and can either go up strong with the ball or kick it out — or down — to an open teammate. He draws plenty of attention near the basket. He’s an impressive passer for his size.

Jackson-Davis would be a huge get for Izzo, but is he a more sought-after option than Vernon Carey Jr. or Isaiah Stewart? It’s tough to say, but there’s not a bad option in the bunch.