Michigan State Basketball: Duke throws wrench in Xavier Booker pursuit

Michigan State basketball has been pursuing Xavier Booker heavily for a while now but Duke just threw a massive wrench in those plans to land him.

Tom Izzo has been putting in the work to land one of the top players in the entire 2023 class as Xavier Booker has him thinking Jaren Jackson Jr. 2.0.

Michigan State basketball has long been considered the leader in his recruitment, but things may have changed despite Izzo’s best efforts — or at least they’re not as clear. The Spartans were probably atop his list of potential suitors, but an offer on Saturday really changed things.

Just days after seeing his recruiting ranking on 247Sports vault him all the way up to No. 4 in the nation from No. 91, Booker was offered by Jon Scheyer and Duke.

Duke had been interested and in contact with Booker for a little while now and that always felt like the Spartans’ top competition because, well, the Blue Devils always seem to be a thorn in Izzo’s side when it comes to recruiting. Although Coach K is gone, Scheyer is recruiting at a high level and he’s already landed two of the top five power forwards in the 2023 class.

Scheyer actually has the No. 1 class in the country for 2023 with five commits all ranked in the top 25 in the new 247Sports rankings. The opportunity to join that class has to be enticing for Booker.

What might help the Spartans here is the fact that Duke has two power forwards already committed and both are ranked in the top 15 nationally. Being the third power forward commit in one class might not be the most desirable situation while Michigan State doesn’t have a single big committed in 2023 with Jeremy Fears as the lone pledge.

But Duke is Duke. The Blue Devils will get whoever they want more often than not.

Will Izzo’s long-standing relationship that he built with Booker be enough to sway him toward East Lansing or will the Blue Devils swoop in and steal the five-star power forward after a late offer much like the Jaden Schutt recruitment in the 2022 class?

Many fans have already hit the panic button with this new Duke offer, but at some point, Izzo is going to win one of these battles with the Blue Devils. Let this be the one.