There was a lot of criticism directed Tom Izzo’s way earlier this week after he landed Charlotte big man Anton Bonke from the transfer portal to address Michigan State’s center position.
The addition of Bonke was praised by many, but the small minority of fans who disliked the move were unfortunately the loudest on social media. Bonke wasn’t Moustapha Thiam or Flory Bidunga so of course unrealistic fans were going to be upset, but what Izzo was able to do wasn’t easy.
Izzo landed Bonke over a host of college basketball behemoths from Gonzaga to Kansas to Texas Tech to Purdue to BYU. There were some big-time names after Bonke in the portal, and Izzo was able to win out over those top programs which is something in which he’ll never get the credit he deserves. He was able to out-bid some college basketball royalty for a 7-foot-2 center.
According to Izzo on The Drive with Jack Ebling, he thought that Bonke was going to Kansas, but it worked out for the Spartans. Being able to beat out usual big spenders for a top-20 center in the transfer portal just goes to show that Izzo isn’t just sitting around while everyone else gets better.
I, too, have been critical of Izzo, but he actually really impressed me with his signing of Bonke because he addressed a need and found a guy with NBA size and potential.
Tom Izzo raved about Anton Bonke
Izzo got to talking about Bonke on Ebling’s podcast and brought up how good of an athlete and student that he is and how he got along with the team on his visit which is a big thing.
The team gave Izzo their blessing to pursue Bonke and clearly Izzo delivered by making a competitive offer that was clearly what his part wanted to hear. Although it looked like he was going to Kansas, Izzo was able to wrestle Bonke away and now the Spartans have a big guy who can shoot a little.
Not only did Izzo rave about Bonke on the podcast, but he also said that he expects a big summer out of Jesse McCulloch and that he thinks the redshirt sophomore is going to be really good.
The vibe has totally flipped among the fanbase regarding the center spot.
And as he alluded to on Ebling’s podcast, he sees all the Twitter criticism.
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