Tom Izzo, MSU Basketball Suffer Scarce Setback on Recruiting Trail
The Michigan State Spartans have yet to receive their first commit of the 2025 class. Head coach Tom Izzo has been working the recruiting trail hard this summer, however.
Izzo has been focusing heavily on guards this class, both the 1 and the 2 spots. Izzo's biggest target for shooting guard was five-star Trey McKenney, though another key name on his radar was Braylon Mullins, who showed interest in Michigan State.
247Sports announced on Monday that Mullins had cut his list of teams down to 10 -- and the Spartans were not one of them. The teams are Indiana, Alabama, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Purdue, UConn and Tennessee.
Mullins is the No. 23 recruit in the country, per 247Sports, and his stock has benefitted from stellar play with the AAU Indiana Elite team.
247Sports' Jeff Rabjohns listed the names that Mullins drew with his performance.
"Among the long list of college coaches to watch Mullins during the addias 3SSB Palmetto Road championships were Mike Woodson (Indiana), Mark Pope (Kentucky), Dan Hurley (UConn), Dusty May (Michigan), Matt Painter (Purdue), Jon Scheyer (Duke), Rick Barnes (Tennessee), Hubert Davis (North Carolina), Bill Self (Kansas), Nate Oates (Alabama), Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame), Wes Miller (Cincinnati), Pat Kelsey (Louisville), Chris Beard (Ole Miss), Chris Collins (Northwestern), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Jake Diebler (Ohio State), Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), Jamie Dixon (TCU), Steve Pikiell (Rutgers), Thad Matta (Butler), Sean Miller (Xavier), Damon Stoudamire (Georgia Tech) and Kim English (Providence)," Rabjohns wrote.
When one considers Mullins' ability, it is no wonder why.
"With Mullins, the biggest thing is not simply that he makes 3s, it's the kind of 3s he can make at very high efficiency and very high volume. Playing on a shoe circuit, he has a game of eight made 3s, games of six made 3s and games of five made 3s -- when every team he plays is trying to stop him from making 3s," Rabjohns wrote. "Mullins has ideal size for a college shooting guard at 6-foot-5. He's athletic. He can attack close outs and finish at the rim. He two-hand dunks with ease. He has change of direction on the move. He can handle the ball and is an outstanding passer for a shooting guard — he played some point guard for his high school team. He passes it well. He makes quick decisions. The ball doesn't stick in his hand."
While losing out on Mullins' Top 10 certainly hurts, it will not make or break the Spartans 2025 class.
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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MICHAEL FRANCE