Michigan State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Signs Top-Five Recruiting Class
11/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo announced Wednesday that three players have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Michigan State next fall and play for the 2007-08 Spartan basketball team.
The signees include Chris Allen (G, 6-3, 190, Lawrenceville, Ga./Meadowcreek), Kalin Lucas (G, 6-0, 165, Sterling Heights, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's) and Durrell Summers (G, 6-5, 195, Detroit, Mich./Redford Covenant Christian). Each player is ranked among the top 30 in the nation, according to Scout.com (Summers - 19, Allen - 29, Lucas - 30) and Prep Spotlight Magazine (Lucas - 22, Summers - 25, Allen - 29). Scout.com's Dave Telep ranks the three-member class No. 5 in the nation.
"Very seldom do you get a recruiting class of three phenomenal players that are also exactly what you need," said Izzo. "Sometimes, you can get a great player, but he doesn't necessarily fit your needs. This is one of those classes where we thought we struck gold because we got three great players, three great kids and three much needed players at their positions. We are really excited about the class.
"In today's ever-changing world of recruiting, these three players knew early on in the process that Michigan State was the right fit athletically and academically. They made their commitments early and never wavered. This speaks not only to their character, but to their great families. A lot of times in this job, the head coach gets all the credit. This is a situation where all the credit should go to the players, their families and my assistant coaches, who did one of their best recruiting jobs in putting together a terrific class.
"They are three different guards, a point, a two and a three, and yet a couple can play a couple of different positions," added Izzo. "They are very athletic, multi-dimensional and are a perfect fit for our fast-break system. They have speed on the wing, great shooters, great rebounders, great athletes and great guys. In addition, each one has been extremely well coached and should make an easy transition to college. Add these three to everything we will have coming back next year, and it's a winning situation for next season and the future of Michigan State basketball."
Chris Allen (G, 6-3, 190, Lawrenceville, Ga./Meadowcreek) -Averaged 26.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in his junior season at Meadowcreek High School ... Added 3.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, and shot 90.3 percent from the foul line ... Owns career highs of 39 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists, 10 steals and nine blocks ... Georgia AAAAA (5A) First-Team All-State honoree ... Led Meadowcreek to a 24-7 record and its first region championship in school history ... Scored 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting in the regional championship game ... Rated the No. 9 shooting guard and the No. 29 player overall by Scout.com and the No. 6 wing guard and No. 29 overall by Prep Spotlight Magazine ... Has started all 93 games since his freshman year ... Recipient of the 2006 Gwinnett County Naismith Award ... Named Gwinnett Player of the Year and Region MVP in 2006 ... Made 2006 USA Men's U18 National Team ... Named to the 2006 Pangos All-American Camp Top 20 "Cream of the Crop" ... Averaged 26.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.1 steals as a sophomore ... Earned 2005 second-team all-state and all-county honors ... Averaged 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists as a freshman ... Plays for Coach Billy Davis at Meadowcreek High School.
Izzo on Allen:"Normally, we don't recruit a lot in Georgia, but because of an aunt and uncle that live in Lansing, Chris Allen's been coming up here since he was 5 years old. I think it was a case where the institution made an impression on him early, and I think our Final Fours and success made an impression on him more recently. Once we started recruiting him, I think he fell in love with the school and we definitely fell in love with him. He's got good size at 6-4 and can shoot it like Shawn Respert with unlimited range, and he is great with the ball. What we learned during the recruiting process is that he is a much better athlete than we initially thought. He was also a very good recruiter with some leadership skills. He's got a quiet confidence, but he's talkative and passionate when selling MSU. That will be an asset in the years to come. He has played against great competition in Georgia's largest class, playing for a great coach in Billy Davis, while also playing against the nation's best teams during AAU play, and we think he really has a chance to be a special player."
Kalin Lucas (G, 6-0, 165, Sterling Heights, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's) -Averaged 25.1 points, 5.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 steals as a junior at Orchard Lake St. Mary's ... 2006 The Associated Press All-State Class A ... The Detroit News Dream Team honoree, while also earning First-Team All-Metro and First-Team All-North honors ... Detroit Free Press First-Team Class A All-State, All-Metro and All-North honoree ... Led the Eaglets to a Catholic League Championship and the Michigan Class A State Semifinals ... Scored 30 or more points in six games during his junior year ... Rated the No. 5 point guard and the No. 30 player overall by Scout.com and the No. 6 point guard and No. 22 overall by Prep Spotlight Magazine ... Averaged 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a sophomore, earning Detroit Free Press First-Team All-North and Fifth-Team Class A All-State accolades ... Earned honorable mention Class A All-State honors from The Detroit News ... Led his team to the Detroit Catholic League finals ... Plays for Coach George Porritt at Orchard Lake St. Mary's High School ... Plays AAU basketball with The Family for Coach Durand Walker.
Izzo on Lucas:"Kalin Lucas is the straw that stirs the drink. He can get into the paint as well as any guard I've seen in a lot of years. He's a Chris Paul-like player with incredible speed and jet quickness that gets him into the lane almost any time he wants. He has an improving 3-point shot, and at 6-0 can dunk the basketball. I think he has the potential of being one of the greatest point guards that we've had here at Michigan State because he has great offensive, defensive and athletic skills and a solid understanding of the game. You put all those things together and you have one of the top players in the country. He's also had some experience winning at a high level. Playing for George Porritt at St. Mary's, Kalin learned how to lead his team in pressure situations during the trip to the state semifinals last year. Playing for Durand Walker with The Family, he's had the opportunity to play against the best teams in the country."
Durrell Summers (G, 6-5, 195, Detroit, Mich./Redford Covenant Christian) - Averaged 28.1 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a junior at Redford Covenant Christian ... Shot 48 percent from 3-point range ... 2006 The Associated Press Class D Player of the Year ... Named First-Team Class D All-State, First-Team All-West and Second-Team All-Metro by both The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press ... Led Redford Covenant to a 20-5 record and the Class D regional finals ... Rated the No. 6 shooting guard and the No. 19 player overall by Scout.com and the No. 3 wing forward and No. 25 overall by Prep Spotlight Magazine ... Averaged 14.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks as a sophomore at Detroit DePorres High School ... Finished the year with a 20-2 record, capturing Catholic League and Operation Friendship city titles ... Named to The Detroit News Second-Team Class C All-State team ... Third-Team Class C All-State and Third-Team All-Detroit honoree from the Detroit Free Press ... Plays for Coach Durand Shepherd at Redford Covenant Christian ... Plays AAU basketball with The Family for Coach Durand Walker.
Izzo on Summers:"Durrell Summers is a freakish athlete, not quite a Jason Richardson, but very much in that mold. At 6-5, he has long arms and incredible athletic ability. He is getting bigger and stronger, and is rapidly improving his outside shot as he's gone from a decent shooter to a pretty good one. As he continues to develop that skill, combined with his incredible first step, he'll be nearly impossible to cover. Another strength of his is that he really gets out and runs the court. I also think he can be one of the better offensive rebounders we've had, like Richardson and Charlie Bell. Durrell plays for an exceptional coach in Duran Shepherd, but he had to deal with Detroit DePorres closing after his sophomore year. The fact that he was able to excel last season, making the transition to a new school in a different class, is a credit to his skills and maturity. Like Kalin, Durrell also played for Durand Walker and The Family during AAU competition, allowing him the opportunity to prove himself as one of the top wing guards in the country."
