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ROSELLE, N.J. — Tom Izzo may already have landed his greatest recruiting class ever.
Sparty’s four-man class of Miles Bridges, Cassius Winston, Josh Langford and Nick Ward is ranked No. 3 behind only Kentucky and Duke by Scout.com.
But if Michigan State adds uncommitted Prolific Prep (CA) forward Josh Jackson to the current class, look out. Jackson is ranked the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports.com and is projected as the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com.
“I think it could be [Izzo’s] best, probably better than the Fab Five at Michigan,” the 6-foot-7 Bridges said after going for 20 points as Huntington Prep lost to St. Benedict’s Prep, 78-68, at the PrimeTime Shootout at Roselle Catholic.
Jackson officially lists Michigan State, Arizona and Kansas, among others, but Bridges thinks it will come down to the first two.
“It’s either Michigan State or Arizona, I think,” Bridges said. “I think because he knows me and Cassius, then I hope he goes there. But if he goes to Arizona, he goes to Arizona.”
He added: “I’m trying to get him there [to Michigan State]. It would be a great team if he does come. Just whenever I see him at a tournament, I call him like every two weeks.”
Arizona’s two-man class of point guard Kobi Simmons and power forward Lauri Markannen is ranked No. 9 by Scout, but the Wildcats remain in it for both Jackson and Word of God Academy (N.C.) guard Rawle Alkins, who took his official visit this weekend.
As previously reported by SNY.tv, Simmons began recruiting Alkins before he pledged to Arizona, and Alkins is aware that Jackson could join the fray, too.
“Imagine that lineup,” Alkins said of a recruiting class that included himself, Simmons and Jackson.
Meantime, Bridges hopes his fellow Michigan native Jackson joins him at Sparty.
“We’ve known each other for basically all our lives, been playing with each other, against each other and we know each other’s games so if we could get to play together it would be good,” Bridges said.
Bridges says he tries “to watch every [Michigan State] game and remains in touch with the staff.
“[They want me] to play guard, they want me to do everything for them actually,” he said. “I think I’ll be comfortable because I played two years with [Winston in AAU] and we know each other very well. I know his game and he knows my game.”
THOMAS FOCUSING ON MARYLAND, LOUISVILLE
Micah Thomas, an uncommitted 6-8 senior forward from Huntington Prep, is focusing on two schools — Maryland and Louisville — and plans to announce in April.
“I’m trying to visit Maryland [April 8-10] and then I’ll make my decision two days after the visit,” Thomas said after going for 15 points in the loss to St. Ben’s.
The NCAA late signing period begins April 13.
Of Maryland, he added, “They’re recruiting me pretty hard but they came pretty late.”
Thomas, whose long arms make him especially tough on defense, recently visited Louisville before the school announced its self-imposed postseason ban — and loved it.
“Crazy, it was an awesome enviroment,” he said. “All the players. I could fit in at that team. If I went to that school I could fit in with everybody.”
Thomas said head coach Rick Pitino spoke to his mother about the potential sanctions and the NCAA investigation triggered by the sex scandal dating to events from 2010-14.
“When we went on my visit, my mom hadn’t even asked the question yet and then coach Pitino told her the situation so I liked that part of it,” Thomas said. “He told us the situation. He said he was going to try to fight it. He couldn’t do anything about that, it wasn’t his fault.”
Arkansas was also involved, but they seem out of the mix.
“We’ve been talking pretty close but they kind of stopped talking to me a little bit,” he said.
Wherever he goes, he wants the right fit.
“I’m trying to fit in, get playing time,” he said.
FREE THROWS
SMU head coach Larry Brown is expected on Sunday for 2016 Montverde (FL) Academy forward Bruno Fernando and 2017 Roselle Catholic point guard Nate Pierre-Louis. Cabalo picked up an offer from Marquette this week and is also being recruited by Florida State, N.C. State, Alabama and LSU….George Washington-bound forward Arnaldo Toro of St. Benedict’s had another strong game with 23 points and 13 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, along with 5 assists as the Gray Bees beat Huntington Prep to improve to 26-1 on the season. Uncommitted 2017 guard David Beatty went for 18 points…St. Joe’s commit Charlie Brown hit a three-pointer in the final seconds to propel St. Thomas More to a 68-65 win over St. Patrick’s. Villanova-bound big man Omari Spellman drained three from deep en route to 11 points….Georgetown-bound guard Jagan Mosely had 11 points and 4 rebounds as St. Anthony’s, No. 4 in the USA Today poll, improved to 21-0 on the season with a 60-42 win over Bishop McNamara…St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin and assistant Matt Abdelmassih will watch 2016 pledge Shamorie Ponds and Thomas Jefferson meet Lincoln in the Brooklyn Borough Championship on Sunday at York College, and then will try to attend the PrimeTime Shootout for targets like 2018 RC forward Naz Reid.
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