Michigan State Basketball: Kerry Blackshear becoming serious transfer option?

Nick Ward has declared for the NBA draft, so does that mean Michigan State basketball could be in the market for Kerry Blackshear?

At the end-of-season press conference, Tom Izzo said that he didn’t see any major changes to the roster, which included transfers in or out of the program.

Well, that could all change soon as rumors of Marquette’s Joey and Sam Hauser considering Michigan State have surfaced as well as an option like Kerry Blackshear from Virginia Tech.

Like this report states, Michigan State now has an open scholarship with Nick Ward headed off to the NBA and Blackshear would make the most sense. The Hauser brothers would take up two spots and with Cassius Winston back, that would mean someone would have to transfer — not an ideal scenario for Izzo.

Blackshear helped lead the Hokies to the Sweet 16, nearly pulling off an upset over Duke, but falling just short and he had a rough game against the Blue Devils. He announced his intention to transfer shortly after head coach Buzz Williams took the job with Texas A&M.

If you’re worried about the fit with the Spartans, Blackshear would be a perfect replacement for Ward, standing 6-10 and weighing in at 250 pounds. He averaged 14.9 points and 7.5 rebounds as a junior for the Hokies, making 51 percent of his shots from the floor and about 33 percent from beyond the arc (21-of-63 on the year).

Michigan State could use a big man who can step out and hit jumpers like Blackshear and who’s not afraid to get aggressive in the post. He fits that Spartan mold.

The Spartans may have reached out to Blackshear, but he’s hearing from just about everyone as the hottest transfer on the market. This will be a tough recruiting battle, but it makes sense.