OFFICIAL: Tom Izzo, Michigan State sign Top 3 recruiting class for 2023 cycle
The reports of Tom Izzo's demise as a recruiter were greatly exaggerated.
On Wednesday, Michigan State men's basketball received letters of intent from all four players who had given their verbal commitments in the Class of 2023.
With those signatures, the Spartans have officially put the cap on a recruiting class that is ranked No. 3 in all of college basketball.
The headliner of the class is five-star Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral power forward Xavier Booker, the No. 3 overall player in the country according to 247Sports' composite rankings. Booker, who stands 6-foot-10 and weighs in at 210 pounds, is the highest-rated recruit that Izzo has signed in the 247Sports era of recruiting.
Perhaps Izzo's favorite player in the class is four-star Joliet (Ill.) West point guard Jeremy Fears, who is ranked No. 34 overall in the country. Izzo has high expectations for any point guard that plays for him, and its clear that the head coach thinks Fears can be one of the best to ever don the Green and White.
At 6-feet and 180 pounds, Fears already has good size for a point guard, and one would think that will only get better once he enters MSU's strength and conditioning program.
The last player to give his verbal commit in the class is arguably the most athletic. Greenville (S.C.) Legacy Early College four-star small forward Coen Carr has a highlight tape that spawns memories of Shannon Brown and Jason Richardson.
Ranked No. 59 in the country, Carr could be the next great, highlight-reel dunker for the Spartans. The 6-foot-7, 200-pounder can leap out of the gym, and that's going to lead to some exciting plays in transition next season and beyond.
When the lowest-ranked prospect in you class still resides in the Top 75 players in the country, you know you've signed a special group. That's the case with North Richland Hills (Texas) Birdville four-star small forward Gehrig Normand.
Ranked No. 73 overall in the nation, Normand has drawn comparisons to former Michigan State sharpshooter Matt McQuaid. The 6-foot-6, 180-pounder will bring size and shooting ability to the wing position for MSU.
This is arguably the best class that Izzo has ever signed at Michigan State. The Spartans also signed the nation's No. 3 class back in 2016 — a class which included Miles Bridges, Jeremy Langford, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward.
That's a high standard for the 2023 class to live up to, but these current high school seniors have the potential to be that good.
"Coen Carr was the last one, Gehrig from down in Texas, he was one of the early ones," Izzo said. "Of course, Book [Xavier Booker] down in Indianapolis is the, I guess, marquee in the class, but Jeremy Fears is probably the ringmaster. He's the Mateen Cleaves, the Magic Johnson of the bunch. He just brings a unity and a confidence. He's an extroverted personality who I think will fit in here very well."
Michigan State is currently on its way to the West Coast for a matchup with No. 2 Gonzaga in the Armed Forces Classic this Friday. Yet, even with a big game in front of the Spartans, Izzo couldn't hide his excitement for the recruiting class that his program just signed.
"As we get ready to go on our trip to San Diego, nothing is more exciting than having the four players that my staff did a great job recruiting, and my players did a good job," Izzo said.
"We got four guys that are 'OKG' — Our Kinda Guys. They were guys that get along, they all kind of united together, all four of them spent a lot of time talking to each other."
The only unfortunate thing is that Spartan fans will have to wait a whole year to see this next generation of Michigan State ballers, but it will be well worth the wait when the 2023-24 season arrives.
Watch Tom Izzo's full comments on MSU's 2023 recruting class below:
