How MSU Nearly Changed History With Jalen Brunson
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Michigan State has more than its fair share of "what if" recruiting stories.
The latest name to be added to the list is New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who just led his team to the NBA title. He also won two National Championships in his three college seasons at Villanova, becoming the AP National Player of the Year in 2017-18. He nearly ended up at MSU.
Brunson's Recruiting Story
Just how close the Spartans were to getting Brunson was unknown until recently. He was a big-time recruit, a high 4-star ranked 23rd overall in the class of 2015 on the 247Sports Composite.
James Edwards III, a Michigan State alum and Senior Writer for The Athletic covering the Knicks, was the one to reveal Brunson's interest in MSU on a Wednesday appearance on "Couch and the Rube."
"He wanted to go to Michigan State," Edwards said about Brunson. "He loved Coach [Tom] Izzo. He didn't even go on his visit because he was so afraid that he'd like it too much, and he just wanted to stay with Villanova."
"When I learned that two years ago, that pained me. Every time I wear Michigan State stuff, he points at me and laughs. Think about Jalen Brunson and Tom Izzo together. That would have been fun."
Going Further Into Brunson's Decision
Edwards' words implied that Brunson's choice not to visit MSU came after his commitment to Villanova. The Wildcats and Illinois were the only two programs that scored official visits from Brunson during his high school recruitment. Brunson liked it enough at Villanova that he committed there five days after his trip.
Brunson's consideration for Illinois likely came with the Fighting Illini's home-field advantage. Illinois wasn't quite as prestigious as it is now. The Illini no longer had Bill Self or Bruce Weber leading them to consistent NCAA Tournament berths, and Brad Underwood was still a couple of seasons away.
Brunson had been attending Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill. That's in the northern part of the Chicago metro area and roughly a 2.5-hour drive from Champaign.
Michigan State was still, well, Michigan State. Izzo's team had just reached the Elite Eight in the 2013-14 season and had gotten to the Sweet 16 the two seasons before that. Villanova was on its way up. The Wildcats were a 2-seed in March during the 2013-14 season before Brunson committed, and then a 1-seed during 2014-15 when Brunson was verbally committed and eventually signed.
Where MSU Turned Instead
The Spartans wound up taking two guards during that 2015 class. In-state center Deyonta Davis was the prized get and only played one season at MSU before going to the NBA. He played three seasons in the NBA with 107 total appearances before playing elsewhere in the G League and a few years over in Asia (Taiwan, South Korea).
Michigan State's guards in that recruiting cycle were Matt McQuaid and Kyle Ahrens. McQuaid was a 4-star prospect ranked 73rd overall that year. Ahrens was a 3-star recruit at 164th overall.
McQuaid spent all four years of his college career in East Lansing. He was best known for his three-point shooting, making 39.4% of his attempts from deep in college. He finished with 9.8 points per game while shooting 42.2% from the three-point line as a senior, helping MSU make the Final Four.
Ahrens was in East Lansing for five years, medically redshirting his third year. He was also part of that 2019 Final Four team, though he missed the tournament run with an injury he suffered during the Big Ten Tournament title game. Ahrens also contributed to the 2020 Big Ten Championship team that got denied a shot at the national title due to COVID.
Other Ripple Effects
The silver lining of Brunson's choice of Villanova over MSU is probably the fact that landing Brunson might have led to Cassius Winston going somewhere else. Brunson's imprint on college hoops is still larger with the pair of titles and an NPOTY award, but Winston is still an East Lansing legend, after all.
Winston was in the 2016 class. He still would have been gettable as a Detroit native, but Brunson's presence would've been a huge factor. If he had gone to East Lansing, Michigan State's backcourt would've had him, Denzel Valentine, Bryn Forbes, and Eron Harris. As hot as Middle Tennessee State was during that first-round upset, that would've been too much for any 15-seed to handle.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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