Michigan State Basketball: No Isaiah Stewart, no problem for 2019-20 team

Michigan State basketball failed to land five-star big man Isaiah Stewart as he chose Washington on Sunday evening. Should the Spartans be worried?

It’s a tale as old as time, really. Five-star basketball recruit falls in love with Michigan State, praises the program and head coach Tom Izzo and eventually takes his talents away from East Lansing in the end. It’s happened to the Spartans more times than one can count on both hands, but it never truly hurts the program.

Sure, it would be nice to land just one of these guys. Michigan State has won some of these battles such as Jaren Jackson Jr., Gary Harris, Branden Dawson and Adreian Payne, but it would be nice to have consistency the likes of Duke in the recruiting circuit.

Isaiah Stewart was just the latest in the 2019 cycle to have Michigan State among his finalists and break Spartan fans’ hearts, choosing a different school.

This time, it wasn’t Duke — thankfully — and instead, Stewart chose Washington which held an advantage because of coaching familiarity with the five-star big man originally from New York and playing for La Lumiere in Indiana.

Was it a surprise? Not really, he had been trending toward Washington for weeks and the word on the street was that if it wasn’t the Huskies, it’d be the Blue Devils.

The top-five national recruit was at the top of every Spartan fans’ list and Izzo, too, was putting on the full-court press, but even he had to know he was fighting an uphill battle in the end. At one point, the Spartans were the favorites, but he slowly opened up to Washington and moving across the country to play for a familiar face.

Should Spartan fans panic after missing out on Stewart, leaving the team without an incoming big man in the 2019 class?

Absolutely not.

Why? There’s a chance the post will be fine for at least the next year, or two. There’s a chance — though it’s a small one — that Nick Ward could be back as a senior to patrol the paint but even without him, the Spartans will return Xavier Tillman, a stronger Marcus Bingham Jr. and a more effective Thomas Kithier.

The year after? The Spartans are aiming to land five-star big man Isaiah Jackson who is a former teammate of 2019 commit Rocket Watts as well as three-star power forward John Hugley and four-star power forward Carlos Johnson from Benton Harbor, Mich.

Don’t forget the grad transfer market exists, too. Izzo is no stranger to bringing in transfers to fill a position of need (Eron Harris, Brandon Wood, Bryn Forbes).

Michigan State is going to be just fine without Stewart and will likely have another national title-contending season with Josh Langford and Cassius Winston as seniors and the possibility of Ward returning. Panic not, Spartan Nation.