College Basketball

Michigan State Recruiting: 5 reasons why Brian Bowen will commit

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:46 p.m. ET

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Dec 6, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo smiles at a referee during the second half against the Youngstown State Penguins at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Spartans win 77-57. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

With five-star Brian Bowen nearing a decision, here’s why Michigan State recruiting will land him in its 2017 class.

La Lumiere got to showcase its immense talent on national TV this week, which means that a future Spartan, Jaren Jackson Jr., gave fans a glimpse into the future. He played well, scoring nine but he also had 18 rebounds and five blocks. Michigan State recruiting won the battle for him a few months back.

However, it is trying to win over Jackson Jr.’s teammate, five-star small forward Brian Bowen, as well. The Saginaw, Mich., native hails from the same hometown as Draymond Green and could follow in his footsteps to Michigan State.

The latest rumor regarding the five start forward who is currently playing high school ball for La Lumiere is that Arizona has jumped to the forefront. Everyone is talking about how he likes what the Wildcats have to offer and the momentum may be swinging in that direction.

This may be true, but there’s still something telling me he will be a Spartan like everyone thought from the beginning. He always said he wasn’t a lock, but I still believe he will go green, and here’s why.

5. Jason Richardson in his ear

Although he is from the same city as Green, Bowen has another former Spartan in his ear, likely telling him how great it is to play for Tom Izzo and Michigan State. Jason Richardson played for Michigan State from 1999-2001 and won a national title during his time with the Spartans.

Heck, he also played well enough to leave early, which many assume Bowen will also do, and was selected No. 5 overall by the Golden State Warriors before playing 15 NBA seasons.

Richardson is a relative of Bowen.

I do understand that just because someone in a family went to the school and speaks highly of it doesn’t mean that the younger relative will follow his footsteps. Actually, often times the younger relative wants to forge his own path. Such could be the case for Bowen, but Richardson is a perfect example of someone who excelled in Izzo’s system which set him up for NBA success.

If Bowen wants to make it t the NBA, all he has to do is talk to Richardson about how Izzo helped him get there and prepare for it.

Dec 18, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Cassius Winston (5) brings the ball up court during the first half of a game against the Northeastern Huskies at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

4. Familiarity with Michigan State

Michigan State has held a special spot in Bowen’s heart for quite some time. The five-star small forward even took trips to East Lansing as a kid to watch games and he’s still making the short trek to the school for visits and even took one a couple months ago for Midnight Madness.

Being around a program for so long can go a ways in making a kid feel comfortable. Bowen has been around the program for as long as he can remember and if he wants to move out west for college, he will be entering an entirely new situation with unfamiliar faces all around.

Sure, forging a path of his own might be attractive, especially playing in a warm weather climate such as Arizona for a program that consistently sends guys to the NBA, but Izzo has been able to do the same thing while making Michigan State a perennial top-five basketball program and almost guaranteeing that every player to stay four years will make a Final Four.

East Lansing has been a second home to Bowen for years now and Izzo has been recruiting him since he was just a youngster. Will the five-star stud come back home for college and play close to his family or will he make the decision to play for Arizona or even Texas?

Familiarity is a surprisingly big deal.

Nov 29, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo gives his players instructions from the sidelines in the first half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

3. Chance to play for Hall of Fame coach

Tom Izzo has done an excellent job in recruiting over the past couple of classes. He has snagged guys like Miles Bridges and Josh Langford, who were both McDonald’s All-Americans, as well as Nick Ward and Cassius Winston.

On top of that, he has reeled in five-star Jaren Jackson Jr. and four-star Xavier Tillman in his 2017 recruiting class, and each player seemed to beam with joy at the mention of Izzo’s Hall of Fame induction. Players really seem to be drawn to a program with a coach who has been granted college basketball’s highest honor.

Izzo is a Hall of Famer. Saying that will never get old, and that actually happens to be one of his best recruiting pitches that he doesn’t even have to use. Kids already know what he’s about and he doesn’t have to brag about it for them to know he’s a Hall of Famer.

Bowen has a chance to pick between a good coach in Sean Miller at Arizona and three coaches with improving track records at Creighton, Texas and N.C. State. If he was making a decision based solely on head coaches, Michigan State would be the obvious choice with Arizona in second.

Will Bowen jump at the opportunity to be taught by the best or does Izzo’s no-nonsense attitude have him looking elsewhere? I think it’s the former.

Dec 18, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans huddle prior to a game against the Northeastern Huskies at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

2. High school teammates with Jaren Jackson Jr.

This one can go along the same lines as familiarity. Having a player committed in the 2017 class that’s already teammates with Bowen could be great for Michigan State. Jackson Jr., a five-star big man from La Lumiere, committed to Michigan State over the likes of Purdue and Maryland in the fall.

While the commitment was a pleasant surprise, Izzo knew he’d have a leg up with Jackson Jr. transferring to La Lumiere from Park Tudor High school. Jackson Jr. would become teammates with Bowen, the Spartans’ perceived top 2017 target, and Tyger Campbell, the 2019 point guard who is considered a top option for MSU.

A couple months in, it seems like Jackson Jr. and Bowen are playing well together with Campbell at point guard. Could we be getting a glimpse into the future of Michigan State basketball? It’s possible, but even if all three did become Spartans, there’s a good chance they would never play together unless Campbell re-classified to 2018.

Already playing well together, Jackson Jr. might be in Bowen’s ear about dominating at the next level and taking their talents to East Lansing. Michigan State is in need of more forwards and wing players and Bowen could fill in that need right away.

Bowen would play right away and could you imagine a lineup with Cassius Winston, Josh Langford, Nick Ward, Jackson Jr. and Bowen? That is, assuming Miles Bridges declares. Scary.

Dec 18, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Nick Ward (44) reacts to a play during the first half of a game against the Northeastern Huskies at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

1. Idea of playing for title contender

As mentioned earlier, just imagine what the lineup would look like if Bowen committed. You would have Winston, Langford, Bowen, Jackson Jr. and Ward in the starting rotation — assuming Bridges leaves and Brandon McCoy is still up in the air.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: 5 bold predictions for December

Coming off the bench would be Matt McQuaid, Kenny Goins, Xavier Tillman, Tum Tum Nairn and maybe even Gavin Schilling or Ben Carter. That makes for one of the scarier teams in college basketball with arguably the most athletic starting rotation in the country.

Heck, although there’s a 99 percent chance Bridges leaves early, it’s not a guarantee, especially with the injury he suffered a few weeks ago. If Bridges comes back, then you’d have a guy like Jackson Jr., or even McCoy, coming off the bench.

Kids want to play for national title contenders even if they’re considered one-and-dones. While Bowen might be a one or two year guy, you can bet he would rather play for Michigan State’s national title contending team than, say, N.C. State or Creighton. While the latter has been impressive in recent years, the Bluejays have a long way to go until they’re considered title favorites.

Despite being in the midst of a down year, Michigan State would likely open the season as a top-five team if it was able to land Bowen and potentially McCoy. That’s intriguing and must be considered by Bowen.

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Kenny Goins

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