Tom Izzo has landed several five-star recruits during his Michigan State tenure, with the most recent arguably being Ethan Taylor and Jasiah Jervis — but both have since been ”relegated” to four-stars.
Since 247Sports started tracking these things, Michigan State has had nine five-stars throughout the Izzo era, and I’m going to do my best to rank them from best to worst, based on their production in East Lansing. There really weren’t any misses, but someone has to be No. 1 and someone else has to be No. 9.
Let me preface this list by saying that 2003 was the first recorded year of five-stars by the247Sports rankings.
1. Jaren Jackson Jr. (2017)
I’ll admit that I didn’t think Jaren Jackson Jr. would be on top of a list like this when he committed to Michigan State, but he was a late-bloomer and really blossomed in his lone year in East Lansing. He was called a unicorn by anyone who watched him and it was because he could defend, rebound, run, and score from all three levels effectively. He “only” averaged 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds, but he led the Big Ten in blocks per game (3.0) and was irreplaceable (ask Ben Carter). In my opinion, Jaren was the most talented five-star that Izzo has ever coached.
2. Shannon Brown (2003)
Shannon Brown was the first real big-time five-star recruit of the 247Sports era, coming in as the No. 4 recruit in the country out of Chicago. He was a high-flyer and also one of the first freak athletes to play for Izzo. People forget just how impactful he was in his three years in East Lansing, scoring nearly 1,200 career points and becoming a sharpshooter as well as an electric dunker. He carved out a nice NBA career, too.
3. Miles Bridges (2016)
This might be a controversial pick for No. 3, but post-Michigan State off-court issues aside, he was one of the most talented players to ever suit up for the Spartans. He could have been a one-and-done but he decided to return for a sophomore year to help Izzo win his second national title. Unfortunately, that team was dominant in the regular season and then lost in the Round of 32 to Syracuse. We won’t get into that. He scored over 1,000 points in just two seasons, averaged 17 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks, and was an All-American as a sophomore. Not having him here would be just a lie.
4. Gary Harris (2012)
Gary Harris played just two seasons at Michigan State, like Bridges, but also like Miles, he never made a Final Four and lost while starring on a loaded team that probably should have won it all. That 2014 NCAA Tournament still haunts a lot of us. Harris averaged 16.7 points on that team while shooting about 35 percent from deep and averaging 4.0 rebounds. The uber-talented five-star guard from Indiana was one of the best all-around players that Izzo ever coached. He, too, reached the 1,000-point plateau in just two years.
5. Branden Dawson (2011)
You’re about to notice a theme near the bottom of this list. It’s full of guys who showed serious promise and had potential through the roof but injuries really limited their development. Branden Dawson suffered a knee injury early in his career and I do remember before that happened, I thought he looked like a legitimate senior as a true freshman. He had the frame and athleticism of a four-year starter in the Big Ten. He averaged 10.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks over his career and even though his knee injury slowed him down, he became a star and a team leader, helping Michigan State get to a Final Four.
6. Joshua Langford (2016)
Coming in at No. 6 but probably deserving of a higher spot if not for his unfortunate injuries is Joshua Langford. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound shooting guard from Alabama joined “The Class” in 2016 with Bridges, Cassius Winston, and Nick Ward and had one of the purest jumpers that I’ve ever seen from a Michigan State player. Unfortunately, he played just 13 games in 2018-19 and missed the entire 2019-20 season with an injury. He was in the middle of a breakout year before getting hurt and if he never did, I think he’s a top-five five-star in the Izzo era with relative ease.
7. Delvon Roe (2008)
I have no doubt in my mind that if Delvon Roe didn’t suffer a knee injury that effectively ended his career a year early that he would have been up a spot or two on this list. He was never a big scorer (6.1 points per game over his three-year career) but he was the perfect team player. Roe was always limited by injuries unfortunately, but he was really easy to root for. And who could ever forget him ducking at the perfect time on a pass from Draymond Green to Korie Lucious who hit the game-winning 3-pointer to beat Maryland and send Michigan State to the Sweet 16 in 2009-10? Legendary stuff.
8. Max Christie (2021)
This isn’t a knock on Max Christie, but it more so just shows just how good the rest of the guys on this list were in East Lansing. Christie averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in his lone season at Michigan State, shooting just 38.2% from the floor and a fraction over 31 percent from deep. I think another year at Michigan State would have benefitted him, but he’s now an NBA starter. He always had the talent, but just took a minute to grow into a regular NBA starter.
9. Xavier Booker (2023)
Is this fair to Xavier Booker? Not really, but he was rated as a five-star even though he probably should have been a four given how raw he was. He showed flashes and really looked like he could become something, but after two years, he decided to hit the restart button with UCLA.
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