Michigan State University Athletics
Grinz On Green: Izzo Welcomes Class of 2016
11/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Considering all the comparisons Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo was making to his former standout players, there was really only one way he could rank his newest group of signed Spartan recruits.
"For what we need, for how we play, for what we can do…, I think it's perfect for our system," he said Wednesday in the newly refurbished film auditorium at the Berkowitz Basketball Complex. "Some of the rankings always depend on: did you get a collection of great players or did you get guys that fit in?
"I think we got some guys that fit in. Who knows where it will end up being ranked, and it really doesn't matter. I think when you look at four Top-39 kids, that would have to be the best … class we've ever had and we've had some good ones. No. 1, usually you don't sign four, but No. 2 I think the talent level and the kind of kids they are…, they're from incredible families."
Just for the record, the 2015-16 recruit class unveiled by Izzo - especially upbeat despite hobbling on crutches after undergoing meniscus surgery on his left knee -- is ranked No. 2 in the nation by ESPN.com as of the first day of the early signing period with one scholarship to give.
It consists of:
- Miles Bridges, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound swingman from Huntington (W. Va.) Prep by way of Flint Southwestern Academy and the No. 8-ranked player in the ESPN 100;
- Joshua Langford, a 6-6, 205-pound shooting guard who won his first of four Alabama Class 3A Player of the Year awards as an eighth-grader and could add a fifth this season with Huntsville Madison Academy;
- Nick Ward, a formerly lightly recruited 6-9, 235-pound power forward who worked his way through the dreaded "project phase" often associated with big men while still in high school, and is the former high school teammate of current Spartan forward Javon Bess at Gahanna (Ohio) Lincoln;
- Cassius Winston, who Izzo calls the "consummate point guard," a savvy, 6-0, 165-pound playmaking scorer for University of Detroit Jesuit.
The foursome, photographed together at the MSU-Oregon football game on Sept. 12, has already bonded into a close-knit group.
"We got a point guard the quality of Winston, a center (Ward) that beats up people and we've got two athletes who can run, jump and do a lot of different things," Izzo said. "What I like about all these guys is they come from winning programs. It's been a heckuva group to be around, and to kind of follow them has been fun."
While No. 13 MSU has set its sights on winning a national championship this season, this class should extend that mindset for the next three or four seasons, at the very least.
"When you have a class like this, it gives you a chance because they're going to fit in with a couple of pretty good classes in front of them," Izzo said. "When you put those two groups together, you're talking about a lot of kids that love the game, a lot of kids that are competitive, a lot of kids that have basketball skills. That's the difference in this class; there's a lot of skill in it."
After the Spartans made it to their seventh Final Four under Izzo on the basis of heart, chemistry and toughness than with talent last season, Izzo, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Dwayne Stephens, and assistant coaches Mike Garland and Dane Fife sat down together and collectively asked: what if we combine all those qualities with even better talent?
And thus the stated mission to land one of the country's top classes, while adhering to MSU's guiding principles.
All four teamed up on Ward, Stephens focused his recruiting efforts on Winston, Garland was in charge of landing Bridges and Fife courted Langford, with plenty of interaction and cross-recruiting by each.
"My assistants deserve a lot more credit than I do on this," Izzo said. "I thought it was the best job I've seen of guys collaborating and working on each other, and the getting (the prospects) here and on the phone together.
"I made no bones about it; I didn't think it was our most talented Final Four team, but in that (81-61 national semifinal loss to Duke) the talent level showed up even worse. So, we just decided. We just weren't quite talented enough."
Izzo called Bridges "just an all-everything player. He's got as much versatility as anybody we've had in a while. He can do some things like a (Morris) Peterson, some things like an Alan Anderson. He's aggressive like a Shannon Brown, a Maurice Ager. He's kind of a jack-of-all-trades."
Bridges is naturally left-handed "but his right hand is just about as good," said Izzo, comparing him to the ambidextrous former Spartan guard Drew Neitzel.
"There's been some guys with his athleticism," Izzo continued. "There's been some guys with his skill level. But I don't know if I've had any guys with his athleticism, skill level and toughness. He is a monster on the boards. He attacks the basket. He's kind of got all three things.
"Everybody wants comparisons because it gives (those) that haven't seen him a lot an idea. He is a manchild. He's built like (Branden) Dawson right now. And he's got a personality, too. He's got a little bit of everything."
Bridges is projected as a player of such high quality he may be tempted to leave school early, but Izzo isn't concerned.
"I don't know where that will lead us," Izzo said. "I know that I'm happy to have him. If he's one-and-done, I'm going to have the greatest year of my life. And if it takes him longer, that decision will be made on how he plays and what he and his family decide.
"I think it was important for us (to get a player like Bridges). You've got a couple schools out there getting most of them, and then it gets to be a stigma for other people. At least I think that stigma has been broken a little bit. My job is to make him as good as I can as fast as I can; his job is to make a decision where that takes him."
Alabama, Izzo pointed out, is one of the few states that allows middle-school athletes play on high school teams, and Langford will be the first player to arrive at MSU with five varsity basketball letters.
"To do that means you were pretty good in eighth and ninth grade," Izzo said. "He's won two state championships. What I like about Langford is he's got versatility and can play a lot of different positions. He can shoot the ball, rebound the ball, athletic enough to be a good rebounder, very long and a very, very good student."
Ward evoked an Izzo reference to former MSU big man Antonio Smith, his first big "get" and the player who gave legitimacy to his program.
"If you looked at him two years ago when we started recruiting him to now, he might have taken the biggest jump as a player, as far as losing some weight, getting in shape," Izzo said. "He's almost a perfect 'us.' He got going, kind of like an Antonio Smith. He's got the same toughness and ruggedness, probably better skill, but he kind of rallied all the other guys, and was calling people and doing things."
Ward also has great hands and passes well out of the post, just like Zach Randolph, Izzo explained.
Winston averaged 22.3 points and 7.1 assists last season as a junior, "which means he can score it and still get some assists," Izzo said. "He's had game-winners, he's had clutch free throws his sophomore year, and I think he's a winner. He is the consummate point guard because he can make other people around him better.
"He's a simple passer and clever with the ball. I wouldn't call him lightning quick, but he has a knack."
Bridges sent a text message to Izzo on Tuesday night offering him best wishes on his recovery from surgery and to act as the unofficial spokesman for the class.
"His comment was, 'Coach, I can't wait for tomorrow morning to sign and join the Spartan Dawgs,' " Izzo said. "It meant a lot to me because I could tell the passion in his text, and that's hard to do sometimes.
"That is the other big thing that I'm always looking for, guys that want to be here. That's what I'm most excited about with this class - everybody wants to be here. We had to recruit 'em, and recruit 'em hard, but there wasn't a lot of begging, and when they got here together they realized they could do something special here."
