Michigan State basketball reportedly leading for transfer portal center
Folks, this is not a drill. Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball are in on a transfer center.
According to a report on X and a crystal ball from Justin Thind on 247Sports, Szymon Zapala looks like he's headed to Michigan State via the transfer portal.
Hearing Szymon Zapala appears headed for Michigan State… URI and Wichita St. were right there, coming down to P5 NIL advantages. Rams remain in mix for other bigs and swing types.
— Chris DiSano (@CDiSano44) May 13, 2024
This isn't exactly the transfer center that fans were hoping for as Zapala has only averaged more than two points and two rebounds once in his four-year career, but the native of Poland finally "broke out" in his senior year with Longwood, averaging 9.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game, shooting 63 percent from the floor.
Michigan State missed out on some big names from the transfer portal. And by missed out, I mean that Izzo never reached out to the likes of Oumar Ballo, Great Osobor, Cliff Omoruyi, and Brandon Garrison. Those guys were all on my short list of desired targets at center, but no dice.
Now, the Spartans are settling for a guy who only averaged more than 5.3 minutes per game once in his four-year career with Utah State and Longwood.
While he could grow into a solid rotational piece, I have a hard time seeing the center position improve with this addition. It almost feels like keeping Mady Sissoko would have been a wiser choice because he has experience at this level and started for MSU.
Either way, at least Izzo is actually looking at a center to push his two guys to get better.
Let's hope this one pans out.