Michigan State Basketball: Jaden Akins, Pierre Brooks get solid rankings bump

Rivals updated its top 150 recruit rankings for the 2021 class and a couple of Michigan State basketball signees got a nice bump.

Despite Michigan State’s 2020-21 season not looking so good thus far, the future is bright for the Spartans. In fact, some believe that the 2021 recruiting class might be the best in the Tom Izzo era, especially if Emoni Bates and Enoch Boakye reclassify.

That future includes guys like Max Christie, Pierre Brooks and Jaden Akins. They all moved in Rivals‘ recent update in its top 150 rankings for 2021.

Spartan fans are looking forward to getting that trio in town in order to get back to winning ways next year. Christie is the only five-star of that trio and he dropped four spots down to No. 22 while Akins got the biggest bump, jumping 13 spots to No. 48 in the class. That was one of the biggest jumps of any 2021 recruit as he inches close to that five-star range. Brooks got a nice nine-spot bump to No. 69.

That gives the Spartans three players in Rivals‘ top 70 and potentially five altogether when the class is sewn up with Bates and Boakye.

Michigan State is going to need some guard depth for next season to complement guys like AJ Hoggard and Rocket Watts. Christie is going to be a heck of a wing replacement for Josh Langford and Akins could be the perfect backup point guard who could see a Cassius Winston-like career trajectory.

It looks like the Spartans’ signees are getting some serious respect from national recruiting experts and it’s about time Akins jumps into that top 50.