John Blackwell is Making Tom Izzo Regret Not Recruiting Him to Michigan State

The Wisconsin Badgers have "the one that got away" from Tom Izzo with star guard John Blackwell, a Michigan native who the Spartans didn't recruit.

Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell (25) celebrates after a play in front of Michigan State Spartans forward Jaxon Kohler (0) and Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper (15) during the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

The Wisconsin Badgers have "the one that got away" from Tom Izzo and Michigan State.

Star guard John Blackwell has been a true gem for Greg Gard as the only Power 4 coach to offer him a scholarship, and the Spartans wish they would have pursued the Michigan native coming out of high school.

"I don’t have many regrets, but that would have been one," Izzo said this week. "He has the whole package if you ask me."

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As the Badgers prepare to host No. 10 Michigan State on Friday, Izzo will face a painful reminder of his recruiting mistake.

Last year against the Spartans, Blackwell put up 16 points in a 71-62 loss at the Breslin Events Center in East Lansing.

That was about 75 miles from where the Wisconsin guard played high school basketball at Brother Rice.

"I’d like to fire all my assistants who went through that with me. The problem is, the head coach went down and saw him, too,” Izzo said. “The worst part is, his dad (Glynn) is an incredible guy. Played at Illinois. Went to Brother Rice. Good school."

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It helpe that Blackwell committed to the Badgers early in the process, not giving Izzo an opportunity for a late push to sway him to Michigan State.

Gard and the Badgers were ahead of the curve, and now they'll need Blackwell to excel once again if they want to knock off another Top 10 opponent in the Big Ten.

After Wisconsin beat Illinois on Tuesday, Michigan State shouldn't feel any kind of comfortable coming into the Kohl Center on Friday night.

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