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Michigan State Basketball: 5 most painful recruiting misses under Tom Izzo

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 24: Caleb Swanigan #50 of the Purdue Boilermakers post up Miles Bridges #22 of the Michigan State Spartans in the first half at the Breslin Center on January 24, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 24: Caleb Swanigan #50 of the Purdue Boilermakers post up Miles Bridges #22 of the Michigan State Spartans in the first half at the Breslin Center on January 24, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 13: Cliff Alexander #2 of the Kansas Jayhawks looks on against the Baylor Bears during a semifinal game of the 2015 Big 12 Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 13, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 13: Cliff Alexander #2 of the Kansas Jayhawks looks on against the Baylor Bears during a semifinal game of the 2015 Big 12 Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 13, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

4. Cliff Alexander

By all accounts, Cliff Alexander and Michigan State were trending together for a while and it looked like a perfect marriage. He loved Tom Izzo and vice versa, but something behind the scenes happened that caused a major fallout.

Alexander went from saying he liked everything about Michigan State in September of 2013 to saying that he no longer had a relationship with the Spartans in November. It was one of the quickest 180 turns in recent recruiting memory and it went from Michigan State being his leader to being out of the running altogether.

Fortunately for Spartan fans, they didn’t have to be invested until the bitter end with him picking up a Kansas hat during his commitment ceremony, but it was arguably the biggest head-scratcher.

What led Alexander to say he loved Izzo and then two months later state that there was no longer a relationship with the Hall of Fame coach? Was it the fact that he wouldn’t participate in illegal benefits (Alexander was later guilty of accepting cash)? It’s possible.

Overall, this was one of the oddest recruitments in the Izzo era and Alexander could have certainly helped the 2014-15 Final Four team.

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