Michigan State Basketball: Top 5 early targets for 2022 recruiting class

For now, I have Jalen Washington at No. 1 on this list and that’s probably not completely accurate, but he’s a talent who I believe the Spartans should prioritize, especially with Marcus Bingham Jr., Thomas Kithier and Joey Hauser all gone by the time he’d get to campus.

Michigan State will have a need for bigs and that’s where the five-star Gary, Ind., native would come into play. He’d couple with Enoch Boakye in the post and maybe even Mady Sissoko if he’s still in town. He’d be a massive addition to the 2022 class and while he doesn’t yet have an offer from Michigan State, he’s likely to pick one up soon.

Michigan State is making Washington a priority but it might be tough to hold off in-state Big Ten foes such as Purdue and Indiana, but Tom Izzo has won recruiting battles against those two for kids from the Hoosier State before.

Washington can stretch the floor as a 6-foot-8, 200-pound power forward with his deep range and soft touch and he has no problem posting up either.

The five-star has offers from Purdue, DePaul, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville and Alabama and is ranked the No. 17 overall prospect and fourth-best power forward in the class. He’s also Indiana’s No. 1 prospect for 2022.