NCAA basketball tournament: Tom Izzo Sweet 16
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo paces the sidelines in the second half of their Sweet 16 game against Virginia during the 2014 NCAA Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday, March 28, 2014. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
Around the time Michigan State was wrapping up its second commitment of the 2015 recruiting class in Ohio shooting guard Kyle Ahrens, it was also laying the foundation for 2016 with another player from Ohio.
Nick Ward, a 2016 power forward from Columbus, Ohio, was offered a scholarship by Michigan State on Thursday, according to his Twitter feed. Ward stands at 6-foot-9, 235 pounds, and represents Michigan State's first reported power forward offer of the 2016 class.
Ward spent the last two seasons playing alongside Spartans signee Javon Bess at Gahanna Lincoln. Bess was quick to offer congratulations to his former teammate.
Michigan State represents Ward’s first reported high-major offer. He was named honorable mention all-district last year and was first-team all-conference, after coming back from a knee injury suffered last June. He is currently not ranked by recruiting services.
- Another 2016 player to put on the radar: Jordan Harris, a 6-foot-4, 165-pound shooting guard from Seminole County High School in Georgia.
Harris told Zagsblog last week that Michigan State has made an early impression on his recruiting.
“Michigan State stood out to me,” Harris said. “It’s about coach (Tom) Izzo, he just wants to win. He makes his players better, and the program better.”
Harris listed nine schools that have shown interest in him, and singled out Georgia and Florida State alongside MSU. He is not ranked by any of the recruiting services.
- DJ Wilkins, a 2016 Indiana shooting guard, was scheduled to take a weekend visit to Michigan State, per his AAU coach.
- ESPN updated its player rankings for the Class of 2015 last week, and Spartans commit Deyonta Davis was among the biggest risers, going from No. 48 to No. 18. Several more Spartans prospects were among the 100 players ranked.
The next day, ESPN came out with the top 60 players in the Class of 2016, and several Michigan State targets also graded out well.
Two in-state prospects with Michigan State offers made the list: Miles Bridges, a forward and Flint native currently playing at Huntington Prep, was rated No. 8, while University of Detroit Jesuit point guard Cassius Winston was rated No. 54.
Jayson Tatum, a highly sought-after small forward from St. Louis who reportedly has a Michigan State offer, came in at No. 3. V.J. King, a small forward from Ohio came in at No. 18.
And looking even farther into the future, Saginaw small forward Brian Bowen was ranked the No. 9 prospect in the Class of 2017.
Scout.com also updated its top 100 for 2015 last week, ranking Davis at No. 35.
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