Michigan State basketball making strong push for 5-star CG Karim Mane

Karim Mane, a five-star guard from Canada, is being pursued heavily by Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball but will it matter?

The NBA might be the next stop for five-star combo guard Karim Mane from Canada but some programs are still pushing him and one of those is Michigan State.

The fact that Tom Izzo is still pushing for Mane at this point in the recruitment with a few months left to sew up the 2020 recruiting class shows that there’s still something there. Although it seemed as if the Spartans were fading in his recruitment, the fact that Izzo took the trip up to Montreal for an 8 p.m. game for Mane on a Friday night is an important move.

Mane is the No. 25 recruit in the 2020 class as well as the fifth-best combo guard and No. 1 player from Canada, according to 247Sports. He has been rumored to be looking toward the NBA or Marquette at the collegiate level. Izzo is hoping to make that decision tougher.

With Jalen Terry de-committing and Cassius Winston graduating, adding another guard to complement Rocket Watts and AJ Hoggard next season is imperative.

Mane would be one heck of an athletic point guard.

There’s a belief that Watts will be taking over the starting point guard spot next season and Foster Loyer and Hoggard should back him up, but if the Spartans can land Mane, he would likely move into that starting role at the one.

A lineup with Watts at the two might be more effective, especially since that gives the Spartans two solid ball-handlers in the starting lineup. The Spartans need a player to truly run point in order to continue an upward trend in 2020-21, Mane would be the perfect addition.