Two years ago, Michigan State was involved the running for one of the best small forwards in the country and Tom Izzo felt pretty good about his chances of landing him.
The Spartans were considered the favorites to land Bryson Tucker and his recruitment was very quiet — just how Izzo likes it — but a last-minute visit to Indiana won him over. He went from Michigan State lean to Indiana commit in seemingly days and a potential missing piece to the national title puzzle was no longer available.
Tucker was the No. 21 recruit in the 2024 class as a five-star and he would have been a great fit in East Lansing, but he decided to bet on Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers.
Unfortunately, that didn’t work out.
Woodson was fired after his freshman season and he only averaged 5.4 points and shot 37.8% from the floor and just 15 percent from three. He was one of the least efficient offensive players on the team and it led a lot of us to wonder what his career would have looked like had he just committed to Michigan State in the first place.
After Woodson was let go, he hit the transfer portal and committed to Washington where he saw his numbers kind of plateau, averaging 5.7 points, shooting 43.6% from the floor and just 26.1% from three. Oh, and his free throw shooting was a horrendous 54.5%, down about 20 percent from the year prior.
Tucker decided to test the NBA draft waters and get some feedback but no one expected him to remain in given how poorly his first two collegiate seasons went. We were all wrong.
Washington sophomore forward Bryson Tucker elected to STAY in the 2026 NBA Draft.
— College Basketball Content (@CBBcontent) May 28, 2026
Tucker averaged 5.7 PPG and is forgoing two years of collegiate eligibility. 😳 pic.twitter.com/1I0aIET07F
The move sparked a ton of criticism for obvious reasons. How could a 26 percent 3-point shooter who averaged 5.7 points in over 22 minutes per game think that he’s ready for the NBA?
No one knows what was talked about behind the scenes, but he clearly got some bad advice. Well, it’s either that or he was just done with college ball and was ready to move on.
Either way, what the heck?
What could have been at Michigan State
If Tucker had committed to Michigan State from the jump, I think you would have seen a much more developed player. Instead, he chose a program with a coach on the hot seat that was eventually fired and then played for a bad Washington team where his confidence plummeted.
Michigan State wanted him to be the last piece to that puzzle in 2024-25, but he opted for Indiana. If he had chosen the Spartans, he’d be a Big Ten champ and a much more respectable NBA prospect.
Now Tucker is going to have to battle it out in the G-League for a couple of years, if he’s lucky, and hope that he develops quicker there than he did in college.
This will go down as one of the most head-scratching draft decisions ever.
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