Recruiting: What's The Point? Inside MSU's Search For a Point Guard

Don't ring the alarm, but so far Izzo's attempts to strengthen his backcourt in the 2015 class have largely been for naught. It started last week, when Minneapolis, MN PG Jarvis Johnson committed to the Minnesota Gophers Friday afternoon. Johnson held an offer from the Spartans, but never made it to campus. And now just yesterday local product Eric Davis, a 2015 4* SG out of Saginaw, MI, elected to play for Rick Barnes and the Texas Longhorns over staying in Michigan with Izzo.

Keith Appling, the Spartan's longtime point man, graduated before the offseason began. Lourawls Nairn, a talented lead guard, arrived with the 2014 class and is currently waiting to begin his freshman campaign. Nairn will likely start this season, and is the probable starter for the 2014-15 season as well, but the Spartans will need capable backups to relieve ball pressure, help to set up teammates, and run the show when Lourawls needs a breather. Izzo's attempts to add a ballhandler that can both score and assist in running the offense since then, at least at this point, have mostly failed. The class does include 6'5" SG Kyle Ahrens, a shooter out of Versailles, OH that Izzo hopes can become a strong complimentary ballhandler over time.

With Johnson and Davis now off the board, where will the Spartans turn?

One of the great things about being a surefire hall of fame coach is that, while recruiting is never guaranteed, is that recruits will at least let you bend their ear. Matt McQuaid, a recent decommit from SMU and a top 75 '15 recruit on 247sports' Composite rankings, is interested in Michigan State. In fact, Tom Izzo was in Texas to visit with McQuaid on September 10th.

Tom Izzo met with Matt McQuaid (@mattblast3) -- one of the best shooters in the 2015 class -- this morning.

— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) September 10, 2014

And Izzo hasn't at all rested on his laurels since yesterday's disappointment. This weekend he'll be hosting Matt McQuaid in East Lansing.McQuaid is now Michigan State's best chance to add another guard to help lead the offense, but Michigan State has been active in recruiting the frontcourt for 2015 as well.

What is Michigan State looking at to fill the 2015 class?

Michigan State has two spots remaining in their 2015 class. Izzo will be hosting Matt McQuid this weekend and he'll also be hosting 5* forward Henry Ellenson,who can't help Nairn lead the offense but would pair nicely with Deyonta Davis. Michigan State has also long been perceived to be the leader for 5* C Caleb Swanigan. With 5* Deyonta Davis already in tow, potentially Izzo could reduce the point guard's workload by packing the frontcourt with offensive talent.

At the end of the day, Michigan State is going to be fine. While it would be ideal to have a dedicated point guard behind your #1 option at lead guard to provide support and pressure in practice, Izzo will have enough guards to handle the ball as long as Nairn is healthy. And the players Izzo already has in East Lansing as well as his incoming commitments assures that Michigan State will have one of the most talented rosters in the Big Ten for the foreseeable future. It's never a good thing to lose recruits in your backyard, or to conference rivals, but I have a good feeling that Tom Izzo will end up with a superlative 2015 class.

Plus, if he can snag Matt McQuaid out of Texas he can repay Rick Barnes back for snatching Eric Davis right away.