The talk around East Lansing for the past week, or so, has been centered around Tom Izzo’s pursuit of Aiden Sherrell. There were murmurs of Michigan State interest shortly after he hit the portal, but there had been nothing concrete until this past weekend.
Unfortunately, another Big Ten program is making an incredibly strong push for Sherrell.
The former blue-chip center who committed to Alabama over Michigan State and a few others in 2024 just took a visit to Indiana this past weekend and now all the signs are pointing to him committing to the Hoosiers before even take a trip to Michigan State or any of his other top programs. Unfortunately, it sounds like Indiana is the most likely to land him.
There have been expert predictions for coming in for Sherrell to commit to Indiana while he’s on his visit. There’s talk of him staying until tomorrow, and if that’s the case, Michigan State will have to go look at its backup plans which consist of Moustapha Thiam and Anton Bonke. I’m not sure if anyone else would make them happy other than Thiam if it’s not Sherrell.
Unfortunately, signs are pointing to backup options being necessary. We’ll have to see how much Izzo wants this second national title based on how he closes out on Sherrell or responds to losing him to Indiana. If he throws a huge bag at Thiam, then he’s serious about No. 2.
If not, well, then it might just be another Sweet 16 or Elite Eight season with a really strong team but not quite the complete lineup to put it over the top.
Where does Tom Izzo go from here?
At this point, all the insiders are hinting that Sherrell is going to shut things down after his Indiana visit and that’s horrible news for Michigan State. That’s worse-case scenario for Izzo and Co.
But where does he look at this point?
Like I said above Bonke is an option. The 7-foot-2 center from Charlotte is going through the draft process but he’s in the portal and will likely command some decent interest. Thiam is my favorite big man in the portal right now. I think Sherrell is the best fit but Thiam may have the higher ceiling of the two. He’s one of the best rim protectors in the country, averaging 2.1 blocks per game over his first two collegiate seasons.
After those two, it’s anyone’s guess. Izzo could circle back with SMU’s Samet Yigitoglu although it looks like South Carolina is in the driver’s seat there, and there’s the big man from Mount St. Mary’s who was playing pickup at IM West a week ago. I just don’t think much would move the needle outside of Sherrell or Thiam.
Bonke and Yigitoglu would be better than people will give them credit for and they’re both 7-footers, but Izzo needs to keep playing the game like he did with Sherrell — it’ll eventually pay off.
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