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Michigan State a ‘perfect team’ for Tom Izzo next season
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Michigan State should be a preseason Top 10 team entering the 2023-24 season. The Spartans will be good. A talented roster gets one of the best recruiting classes in the country added to it. Tom Izzo knows that’ll bring expectations.
In the last week, guard Tyson Walker and forward Malik Hall announced their returns for next season. They’ll give Izzo some major scoring and leadership. The 2023 class, ranked No. 3 nationally, will bring a pair of 5-stars into the fold.
“In a way, I got the perfect team for me,” Izzo said Wednesday, per the Detroit Free Press’s Chris Solari. “I got some veterans, I got some rookies. I got some guys that are, I think, competitive. I think we’ll add some toughness to this year’s team. I think we’ll get healthy.
“… And I’m embracing the opportunity to be ranked high enough, and I’m embracing the challenge of trying to win another Big Ten championship. And I’m looking forward to the chance to compete for a national championship.”
The 2023 recruiting class is one of the best of the Izzo tenure. Center Xavier Booker is the No. 8 prospect in the country for his class. Point guard Jeremy Fears is the No. 24 recruit and the top prospect from Illinois. MSU is also adding 4-star forwards Coen Carr and Gehrig Normand.
The Spartans will lose Joey Hauser. AJ Hoggard could test the NBA Draft waters. If he returns, the Spartans could use multiple point guards on the floor at one time next season.
With Walker (14.8 points per game last year) back, the Spartans should have one of the best backcourts in the country.
“It won’t be easy. There’s teams got a lot more back than we got. There’s teams that got better talent that we got,” Izzo said, per Solari. “I just think I like the chemistry of our team.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.