Tom Izzo Welcomes Three New Recruits to Michigan State Spartan Basketball With Latest Exceptional Signing Class

Men’s Basketball Signs Three To National Letters Of Intent Spartans have received NLIs from Ahrens and McQuaid and Davis Kyle Ahrens (G, 6-5, 195,

Men’s Basketball Signs Three To National Letters Of Intent

Spartans have received NLIs from Ahrens and McQuaid and Davis

Kyle Ahrens (G, 6-5, 195, Versailles, Ohio/Versailles H.S.)

Averaged 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists as a junior, before suffering a season-ending leg injury in the sixth game of the season … Shot 62 percent from two-point range and 40 percent from outside the arc, while also shooting 77 percent from the foul line … Has been in the starting lineup since his freshman season … Helped lead Versailles High School to the Ohio Division III state title game as a sophomore, posting a final record of 23-6 … Averaged 19.8 points as a sophomore, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, steals and assists, while shooting .824 from the foul line, to earn special mention Division III All-Ohio honors … His dunk over an opposing player in the state semifinals was featured on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays … Enters his senior season having totaled 992 points and 356 rebounds in 60 games … Ranked the No. 149 player in the nation by 24/7 Sports … National Honor Society member.

Coach Tom Izzo on Ahrens: “Kyle was a guy that we first recruited as a sophomore and then he had the unfortunate mishap a couple games into his junior year of hurting his leg, and that took care of the rest of the year. So, he was a little bit under the radar for some people, but not for some in the Big Ten and not for Tom Izzo. We love the fact that he has great toughness and he plays as hard as anybody I’ve seen, and yet he has very good shooting ability - he shot over 40% from the three-point line, so that combination of things will let him play two, and even three positions.

Matt McQuaid (G, 6-5, 180, Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville H.S.)

Averaged 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and two assists and one steal as a junior, helping Duncanville High School advance to the regional quarters … ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman called him “arguably the best pure shooter in the country” … Averaged 15.6 points and 45.1 percent of his 3-pointers during the 2014 Nike EYBL circuit … Ranked the No. 65 player in the nation in the ESPN100, No. 68 by 24/7 Sports, and No. 72 by Rivals.com and Scout.com … Rated the No. 18 shooting guard in the nation by the ESPN100, No. 19 by 24/7 Sports, and No. 23 by Scout.com … Father Rob grew up in Midland, Mich., and was a two-year letterwinner at Central Michigan (1980 & 1981) and Midwestern State (1982 & 1983) … National Honor Society member … Selected to represent his school at the Leadership SW Conference.

Coach Tom Izzo on McQuaid: “In Matt McQuaid, we have another 6’5” shooting guard who is skinny but a tremendous athlete, with unlimited range. When I first saw Matt in an AAU tournament, I couldn’t believe where he could shoot it from and how effortlessly he could shoot it. The connection for us, even though he is from Duncanville, Texas, is that his dad is from Midland and actually played a couple years at Central Michigan. Once Matt came up, I think he fell in love with the place and there’s no question that myself and my staff fell in love with him. I think he brings tremendous work ethic, he’s a student of the game and he’s a guy that’s going to be able to shoot it from anywhere in the 517 area code. Because Matt’s skinny, he doesn’t get the credit for how athletic he is, and it was his high school coach that straightened me out on just how good an athlete he is and how good he’s going to be, as he gains some strength and some weight.”

Deyonta Davis (F/C, 6-10, 215, Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon H.S.)
Averaged 15.0 points, 13.6 rebounds and 7.1 blocks as a junior, earning Associated Press Class A All-State and Detroit Free Press and Detroit News Dream Team honors … Led Muskegon High School to a perfect 28-0 record and a Michigan Class A State Championship, finishing the year ranked No. 20 in the USA Today Top 25 … Totaled 26 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in a 91-67 win over Bloomfield Hills in the 2014 title game, connecting on 12-of-14 field goals … Established a Michigan state high school single-season record with 199 blocks, including two games with 16 blocks (vs. Grand Rapids Union – 3-7-14; vs. Mount Clemens - 2-15-14) … Shot 61 percent from the field as a junior … Averaged 5.5 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks as a sophomore, as Muskegon posted a 19-7 record and won a regional championship, advancing to the state quarterfinals … Possesses a 7-foot-2 wingspan … Rated the No. 15 player in the nation in the ESPN100, No. 23 by Rivals.com and 24/7 Sports, and No. 29 by Scout.com … Rated the No. 5 power forward in the nation by Scout.com and the ESPN100, and the No. 5 center by 24/7 Sports.

Coach Tom Izzo on Davis: “In Deyonta Davis we have a 6’-10” shot blocker who won a state championship and plays for a great coach in Muskegon. I think he has blossomed into something special with the best yet to come. He does remind me of an Adreian Payne. He runs the court and is very long, but he doesn’t shoot the ball bad either - in fact his shooting is improving each and every day as they work out. But his forte would be to run the court and block shots, and he is very good at that. As he puts on extra strength, I think his plans are to try to win a second state championship, and if he does that, he’ll join a guy like Denzel Valentine, and that’s worked out pretty well for him. Winning is winning, it doesn’t matter which level you win at.”

General comments from Coach Izzo on the class: “It’s a very exciting day here at Michigan State. We signed three kids that are going to really help us in the near future. The class brings versatility; it brings two very good three-point shooters, it brings some size at 6’5”, 6’5” kind of guards, and then a 6-10 guy in Deyonta Davis who we think is going to be one of the best shot blockers and can score points. And maybe as important as anything is that all three guys have won, some of them have played for a championship, one of them won a championship and one plays for one of the best leagues in Texas. So we think we have versatility, we think we have shooters, we think we have some size, and we think we have three guys who are dying to be here, which is maybe as important as anything.

“Matt (McQuaid) is a guy that could play three positions. I think (Kyle) Ahrens is a guy that could play three positions. And DD (Deyonta Davis) is a guy that can play a couple positions, with his size and athleticism, as we put on some strength and weight. We think this could be a phenomenal class, and yet maybe have one more to sign.”