Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler commits to Michigan State basketball

Tom Izzo has finally done it. In what turned out to be a very back-and-forth recruitment, the Hall of Fame coach has earned his first transfer portal commitment of the offseason in Frankie Fidler.

Out of all of Fidler's finalists, it appeared Wisconsin was the initial leader in his recruitment. That however changed after Michigan State basketball hosted Fidler on a visit a little over a week ago and MSU took the top spot from the Badgers. He may have pushed his original commitment date back, but this turned out to be a great sign for the Spartans according to 247Sports insider Justin Thind.

Fast forward to Tuesday, and the Spartans got the best news possible as Fidler made his commitment to Michigan State official.

It’s impossible to stress enough just how massive this commitment is for Michigan State. Fidler is not only one of the top transfers available in the portal, but he fits an obvious hole in the roster.

Fidler will come in likely as a day one starter for Michigan State, and could potentially be a direct replacement for Malik Hall.

Time will tell if he does more for MSU statistically than Hall, but based on last year alone the answer is an obvious yes. This past season, Fidler averaged 20.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He also is a solid 3-point shooter as he shot 35.6% this past season.

Regardless of how Fidler pans out at Michigan State, I think we’re all just relieved that Izzo is utilizing the portal this year. The team had an obvious need to get at least one player if not more from the portal, and this is one big step in the right direction. Now the question is if Izzo will use the portal again this offseason for a center. In my opinion I think he absolutely needs to, but for now let’s just enjoy celebrating the latest player to become a Spartan.