Michigan State Basketball: 5-star CG Karim Mane takes virtual visit

Michigan State basketball gave five-star combo guard Karim Mane a virtual visit on Tuesday and that should help the Spartans’ chances.

Just before the stay at home orders hit the nation, Karim Mane had scheduled a visit to East Lansing to check out Michigan State before making a college decision.

It seemed like his visit to Michigan State would help him decide whether he was better suited for Marquette, the NBA or East Lansing. Unfortunately, that trip was put on hold for the Canadian-based guard and that has forced him to pick a school or the NBA based on information from a distance.

That has halted all campus visits, but that hasn’t stopped Michigan State from putting on the full-court press in order to land one of the 2020 class’ top guards.

In fact, the coaching staff gave Mane a virtual visit on Tuesday after doing the same with Marquette a week ago. The Spartans will also be battling it out with DePaul and Pitt.

This is a big development in his recruitment because it shows that Michigan State is still very much in the mix and landing him would turn a top 15-20 team into a top 5-10 one. He’s the difference between the Spartans being slightly above average to being national title contenders.

Sure, Rocket Watts returns and should be the starting point guard with AJ Hoggard handling some of those duties off the bench, but Foster Loyer hasn’t progressed as quickly as hoped and Watts/Hoggard can’t handle point guard duties for 35-37 minutes every game. Mane would take the pressure off those two and allow them to play off the ball.

Not many programs can offer Mane what Michigan State can and that’s a starting point guard job and extended playing time on a team that could contend for a national title.