When Cincinnati’s Moustapha Thiam hit the transfer portal, I remember saying how much I would love to see him in a Michigan State uniform, developing under Tom Izzo and Saddi Washington.
It would have been a match made in heaven, and any big man should see what happened with Carson Cooper at Michigan State and want to trust Izzo and Co. with their development. Unfortunately, money talks nowadays in the transfer portal, and Thiam quickly went from “top target” of Michigan State’s to scheduling a last-minute visit to Michigan.
The Spartans were one of about a dozen schools that were in contact with Thiam as recently as a week ago, but after a weekend trip to St. John’s, he scheduled a trip to Michigan which wasn’t even on his list of interested schools.
That’s kind of when everyone knew he was likely going elsewhere.
Well, he’s apparently going to be haunting the Spartans from inside the Big Ten and even inside the state of Michigan. Thiam just committed to Dusty May and Michigan on Friday afternoon, making Michigan State’s path to a second Big Ten title in three years that much tougher.
This is not just bad news for the rest of the Big Ten, but horrible news for the Spartans who were after Thiam for a minute and he immediately turned his attention toward the reigning champs.
This has to be the year that Tom Izzo wins No. 2
The pressure on Izzo’s shoulders has been mounting and I think after watching Michigan win a national title and then add the 7-footer that the Spartans were originally after less than a week after visiting has to drive the Hall of Famer nuts. He has to win to stop this momentum.
Right now, Michigan has all the juice in the rivalry. A year ago, it was all Michigan State. The script needs to be flipped back and Izzo knows that.
If he doesn’t at least make it to Detroit for the Final Four, Michigan State could be fighting an uphill battle to keep up with May and the Wolverines as they continue to dominate the transfer portal. Izzo needs to prove that he can still win the whole thing his way.
It’s been a while since he has, but this has to be the year.
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