It’s not hard to imagine Michigan State being one of the four teams in the Final Four this week in Houston: one or two more baskets in the Sweet 16 against Kansas State and an Elite Eight win over No. 9 seed FAU and the Spartans are still playing basketball this week.
Instead, we’ve reached the offseason.
Michigan State’s season ended with a Thursday night Sweet 16 loss to Kansas State. Now, we’ll have to wait until November before the Spartans officially take to the court again.
Plenty will happen between now and then. Here’s a look at five things to watch with the Michigan State basketball offseason:
Who’s on the move?
Let’s start with the potential fifth-year players. Joey Hauser has said that he doesn’t plan on pursuing another year. Malik Hall and Tyson Walker have both said they’re undecided about returning for potential fifth years in 2023-24. Both have reasons to return – Hall had an injury-filled year that likely didn’t aid his professional stock, Walker is limited in his NBA stock by his height. Both could also decide they’re ready to play professional basketball. Their decisions will be the most critical of the Spartans’ offseason.
Then there’s the portal. Michigan State has seen fewer portal entries than most programs – it went five years, 2016-21, between transfers losses. In the transfer portal era, that seems quaint. Nearly every program now has at least a player or two leave via the portal each offseason, and Michigan State likely will be no different.
We’ll save the speculation on who that might be from Michigan State’s roster, but those who have seen less playing time than expected or who don’t see a significant role in the near future are typically those who look first to the portal.
Will Tom Izzo add?
If every player with eligibility returns, including Hall and Walker, that would put Michigan State at the limit of 13 scholarship players for 2023-24. But remember, Michigan State carried only 10 scholarship players last year, and Izzo has said he doesn’t envision carrying 13 in the portal era. It’s too hard to keep everyone happy.
So if a player or two departs, don’t expect Michigan State to race out to fill the spot via the portal.
But while Tom Izzo is famously transfer-reluctant, he’s shown will take one when there’s an obvious need. Several players in the portal have reported contact from Michigan State coaches in recent weeks. That could be them simply establishing interest and relationships in the portal in case they find themselves with a need, or there could be a plan to add someone at a certain position if the fit is right.
Schedule construction
We know much less about Michigan State’s schedule than we typically do at this time of year.
For one, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge won’t be played in 2023-24 for the first time since 1998. How exactly Michigan State will replace that schedule fixture isn’t yet known. Will another conference challenge series take its place? Will the Spartans play their home-and-home series since 2018? Or will they add another home buy game to fill out the schedule?
We also don’t know the Spartans’ multi-team event. Schools can play one in-season tournament, like the Maui Invitational or Battle 4 Atlantis, that’s typically played over Thanksgiving week. Michigan State has typically announced its MTE by now but hasn’t yet this year.
That means we’ll likely be hearing about a lot of marquee games in the coming weeks and months, and several of them could be different than the ones we’re used to hearing about.
Freshman readiness
Get ready for an offseason of freshman hype.
Michigan State is enrolling a four-player 2023 recruiting class that is rated No. 3 in the country. That’s the program’s highest-rated class since 2016, when Miles Bridges, Cassius Winston, Nick Ward and Joshua Langford enrolled.
This year, five-star center Xavier Booker, five-star guard Jeremy Fears, four-star forward Coen Carr and four-star forward Gehrig Normand are joining the fold.
Multiple players from that group will likely be competing for day-one starting jobs, particularly the first two. We’ll likely start getting an idea of their chances once they’re on campus for workouts in June and taking part in the Moneyball Pro-Am in July.
2024 recruiting
Within two days of Michigan State losing in the Sweet 16, Izzo was back on the road and spotted in a high school gym doing some recruiting. It never stops.
The 2024 recruiting cycle will heat up when evaluation periods begin next month. The Spartans will try to follow up their successful 2023 cycle by landing some high-level prospects over the ensuing few months.
Players in the cycle who have taken visits include Jase Richardson, a four-star guard and son of former Spartans great Jason Richardson; Jesse McCullough, a three-star forward from Cleveland; Kur Teng, a four-star guard from Massachusetts; and Aiden Sherrell, a forward who currently plays in Arizona but is originally from Detroit.
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