Recruiting

I know, just last week I said that I was not in to the recruiting thing. That is for nerds. Well, I'm not in to memorizing kids stats and living and dying with each rumor or verbal commit. I do, however, keep abreast of some things. Mostly I follow the in state kids. If nothing else, where the 4 and 5 star kids (from Michigan) go is an indicator of where the programs are heading.

The fact that MSU is not only competing but regularly getting the best kids is very, very nice. I am especially excited to get the best linebacker in the state for the third straight year. You could make the argument that MSU got the 2 best linebackers in the state in 2010. When a kid knows there is already depth and talent at MSU at his position and still commits that is a good sign. He is a competitor and likes what he's seen. Better yet? He's from Detroit. As little as 3 years ago such a get would have been considered a crime, an absolute theft. Now we call it Wednesday afternoon.

I was equally upset to see super recruit Justice Hayes (grand blanc) choose ND. I can understand, with the stable of MSU backs and the chance to play for a team sure to make some noise in coming years under Kelly. It hurts a little, though.

I also LOVE the story coming out of Gary, IN. A 5 star recruit (6'6", 210) small forward (ala Alan Anderson -- not blazing speed but deceptive with some handles and a lanky game for his height) verballed for 2011. His recruiting bio on espn lists Indiana, Marquette, Purdue, Georgetown, and UCLA. Well, looks like MSU should have been somewhere on that list. ESPN puts him at the 14th best player in the country regardless of position, #4 small forward (must be a deep SF class!).

Oh, yeah. Chris Allen is gone. No more giraffe on roller skates analogies. In all fairness his defensive footwork and attention went from about -4 to 100 (on a scale of who am I guarding? to B+ level Bobby Knight defensive camp counselor). He also seemed to be a little more turned on than turned off in terms of being aggressive with the ball. He was becoming fearless with the ball and quite obviously had no memory.

The bad: I'm fairly certain he is exactly as smart as he sounds/looks/acts/showed himself to be. Also, Izzo is fiercely loyal to his players. You will learn lessons and take your lumps, but he rarely (has he ever?) gives up on anyone. I don't think Izzo has given up on Allen, but he has determined that what Allen needs cannot be provided in East Lansing. There is no doubt in my mind that Chris will get his stuff together, to some degree, and in 15 years he will be at some sort of MSU event singing Izzo's praises, thank coach for forcing him to grow up.