Michigan State University Athletics
Men's Basketball National Signing Day Update
11/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's basketball team has received signed National Letters of Intent from guards Kyle Ahrens and Matt McQuaid.
Kyle Ahrens (G, 6-5, 195, Versailles, Ohio/Versailles H.S.)
Averaged 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists as a junior, before suffering a season-ending leg injury in the sixth game of the season ... Shot 62 percent from two-point range and 40 percent from outside the arc, while also shooting 77 percent from the foul line ... Has been in the starting lineup since his freshman season ... Helped lead Versailles High School to the Ohio Division III state title game as a sophomore, posting a final record of 23-6 ... Averaged 19.8 points as a sophomore, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, steals and assists, while shooting .824 from the foul line, to earn special mention Division III All-Ohio honors ... His dunk over an opposing player in the state semifinals was featured on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 plays ... Enters his senior season having totaled 992 points and 356 rebounds in 60 games ... Ranked the No. 149 player in the nation by 24/7 Sports ... National Honor Society member.
Coach Tom Izzo on Ahrens: "Kyle was a guy that we first recruited as a sophomore and then he had the unfortunate mishap a couple games into his junior year of hurting his leg, and that took care of the rest of the year. So, he was a little bit under the radar for some people, but not for some in the Big Ten and not for Tom Izzo. We love the fact that he has great toughness and he plays as hard as anybody I've seen, and yet he has very good shooting ability - he shot over 40% from the three-point line, so that combination of things will let him play two, and even three positions.
Matt McQuaid (G, 6-5, 180, Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville H.S.)
Averaged 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and two assists and one steal as a junior, helping Duncanville High School advance to the regional quarters ... ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman called him "arguably the best pure shooter in the country" ... Averaged 15.6 points and 45.1 percent of his 3-pointers during the 2014 Nike EYBL circuit ... Ranked the No. 65 player in the nation in the ESPN100, No. 68 by 24/7 Sports, and No. 72 by Rivals.com and Scout.com ... Rated the No. 18 shooting guard in the nation by the ESPN100, No. 19 by 24/7 Sports, and No. 23 by Scout.com ... Father Rob grew up in Midland, Mich., and was a two-year letterwinner at Central Michigan (1980 & 1981) and Midwestern State (1982 & 1983) ... National Honor Society member ... Selected to represent his school at the Leadership SW Conference.
Coach Tom Izzo on McQuaid: "In Matt McQuaid, we have another 6'5" shooting guard who is skinny but a tremendous athlete, with unlimited range. When I first saw Matt in an AAU tournament, I couldn't believe where he could shoot it from and how effortlessly he could shoot it. The connection for us, even though he is from Duncanville, Texas, is that his dad is from Midland and actually played a couple years at Central Michigan. Once Matt came up, I think he fell in love with the place and there's no question that myself and my staff fell in love with him. I think he brings tremendous work ethic, he's a student of the game and he's a guy that's going to be able to shoot it from anywhere in the 517 area code. Because Matt's skinny, he doesn't get the credit for how athletic he is, and it was his high school coach that straightened me out on just how good an athlete he is and how good he's going to be, as he gains some strength and some weight."
