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The Michigan State Spartans are coming off a terrific end to the college basketball season by making the Final Four, and coach Tom Izzo and Co. should be very excited for next season to start since they have a terrific recruiting class, which includes highly touted prospects Caleb Swanigan and Deyonta Davis.
Swanigan is a big-time recruit from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and he is the #3 overall center according to the 2015 ESPN 100. He will make a huge impact on the Spartans immediately because the team lacked size last season and now that Branden Dawson is leaving, the team will need a post presence and Swanigan can provide that presence down low. Swanigan will also add a mid-range game and an impressive outside shooting game.
Davis is another huge recruit for the Spartans that will add freak athleticism and terrific outside shooting. He will play the power forward position for Izzo, but he could also play the small forward position due to his quickness and shooting.
So what does this mean for Michigan State next season? Well the Spartans will be returning veteran Denzel Valentine. He will provide knockdown shooting and leadership for the Spartans next season. The Spartans will also add transfer Eron Harris, who averaged 17.2 PPG in his sophomore season at West Virginia. Harris, Bryn Forbes, and Lourawls 'Tum Tum' Nairn Jr. will makeup the backcourt for the Spartans, they will hopefully fill the void after Travis Trice's departure.
The Spartans will have a strong backcourt and an exciting front-court, but one thing is for sure, Swanigan and Davis will have a lot to say in how the Spartans do next season. The Spartans should compete with Maryland for the Big Ten championship next season
At the end of the day, Izzo is still the coach of Michigan State, and that already gives the edge to the Spartans in the postseason. We will have to wait and see how the Spartans do next season, but right now, the Spartans have a plethora of options to make themselves contenders not just in the Big Ten, but possibly March.