Michigan State basketball: Dear Tom Izzo, stop battling Coach K for recruits

With Vernon Carey now headed to Duke, it’s time for Michigan State basketball and Tom Izzo to stop challenging Mike Krzyzewski for top recruits.

Michigan State basketball fans have said it to themselves numerous times before, but less frequently aloud. However, after Fort Lauderdale big man Vernon Carey became yet another elite recruit to narrowly choose Mike Krzyzewski and Duke over Tom Izzo and Michigan State, I’ll go ahead and say it:

Michigan State should never go after another five-star, out-of-state recruit that is strongly considering Duke.

Jabari Parker, the No. 1 overall recruit of 2013, formally announced his decision bypassing the green hat for the blue one in a setting similarly nerve-racking to Carey’s on national TV.

Then came the drawn-out, brutal endeavor seeking the 2014 package-deal of Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor. The attempt required so much time and effort that by the time the star tandem became, you guessed it, Blue Devils, Plan B recruits had already committed elsewhere, and the Spartans were forced to settle for Plan C, almost costing them their streak of consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

The lesson to play on the safer recruiting jungle gym when Duke is on the big kids’ playground could’ve been learned after striking out swinging for 2017 sharpshooter Gary Trent Jr., who even after committing to Duke endorsed the Green and White to other top recruits.

It just doesn’t work. Two official visits from Carey, him describing trust he had in Izzo, and Jaren Jackson Jr.’s involvement in the process made this recruiting battle over the future NBA lottery pick seem different. And pessimistic Spartan fans hoped that Izzo would prove them wrong, snatch Carey, and wipe the cynical smirks off their faces. But there now have been enough cases to make the necessity of avoiding Duke in battles for blue-bloods a matter-of-fact proposition.

Izzo may have a lot of chips on the table for a recruit, but if and when Duke becomes a serious player, he needs to fold, cut his losses and try another hand.

One factor that can, counter-intuitively, be a recruiting disadvantage for Izzo is that for many kids, it’s cool to be recruited by Michigan State. The program has had perennial success, a legendary coach, and seen many superstars throughout the years, including explosive dunkers like Jason Richardson, Shannon Brown, and Miles Bridges.

The result is being on everyone’s Top 5. Mirroring one national championship in seven Final Fours, as phenomenal as that is, is Izzo’s percentage of success being in the final four of recruits’ considerations.

The good thing is that there are many excellent recruits, and Duke can’t go after each one.

Izzo has had tremendous long-term success drawing Michigan recruits. And he’s had consistent success in Ohio, with the likes of Raymar Morgan and Adreian Payne, and in Indiana, such as landing Branden Dawson and Gary Harris, along with several others.

If Izzo can avoid what hasn’t worked by sidestepping challenges with Duke, and stick with what has worked by not traveling too far from Big Ten country, it will save him some airline expenses and the rest of us some heartache.