1. MSU landing Jasiah Jervis shows Izzo still has his fastball — and enough resources
Jasiah Jervis’ commitment Wednesday to Michigan State basketball a week before early signing day is a significant addition to what’s now a notably strong recruiting class by Tom Izzo and his staff — and could be among Izzo’s best ever if MSU also lands 7-footer Ethan Taylor, who’s considering MSU and Kansas, among others.
I’ll get into Jervis the player shortly. What’s just as important, though, is that, at age 70, Izzo is still operating with a fastball and that MSU has the resources to compete for these types of recruits in the revenue-sharing era. Because that’s what it’s going to take for Izzo to contend for a second national championship in the final chapter of his career. A lot of great coaches at this stage aren’t ticking at the same pace they once did. Izzo is showing he’s still in the fight.
Jervis, a top-40 recruit and shooting guard from White Plains, New York, joins point guard Carlos Medlock, a top-75 recruit who’s probably underrated, and Julius Avent, a top-100 power forward who chose the Spartans in early October.
Add Taylor to this group — he’d probably be MSU’s best big man prospect since Jaren Jackson Jr., though not ranked as high as Xavier Booker — and you’re looking at a class that would be in the ballpark with MSU’s 2016 foursome (Miles Bridges, Joshua Langford, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward). As it stands, from a rankings standpoint, it’s more Max Christie, Jaden Akins and Pierre Brooks.
What’s important as MSU moves forward is that the Spartans are in on and landing players as coveted as Jervis and recruits who aren’t instate kids (Avent, from New Jersey, isn’t either). Because unlike when Izzo built MSU’s program, he can’t draw a four-hour circle around East Lansing and win with only those prospects. Part of what made that work as the 1990s turned into the 2000s is that Izzo had a ton of cachet in the Midwest. Now, I think he’s also benefiting from being one of the last coaching legends of an era left. That helps with parents of players now, too, many of whom were just coming of age when Izzo won his first national title.
2. What to expect from Jasiah Jervis
The most flattering comparison I’ve heard from somebody who’s watched Jasiah Jervis a lot is that of former MSU and NBA guard Gary Harris, because Jervis a two-way player who can score and defend. He’s pretty polished offensively, from everything I’ve seen. He can create his own shot, is comfortable shooting at multiple levels from different angles and shoots the 3 well, including off the bounce. He finishes with either hand and there’s a craftiness and a smoothness to his game that jumps out. He’s one of of those guys who’s going to play right away.
He has the sort of sklll set that MSU trying to find at the shooting guard position on this year’s roster.
3. How Jervis fits into MSU’s roster next season
The natural inclination is to say that Jervis and Medlock are the backcourt of the future from MSU. If this were 2010, you’d frame it that way. But you never know how long these guys will stick around or, in Jervis’ case, if he’s someone who lands on NBA radars quicker than expected. That would be a good problem for the Spartans to have.
MSU’s current point guard, Fears, has as many as three years of eligibility remaining after this season, so as long as he’s happy and well fed and not on NBA draft boards, he might be the Spartans’ point guard of the future. This could also be Fears’ last season in East Lansing. Never know. You have to plan and brace for everything these days.
But if they get another year at least out of Fears, with Medlock behind him, with Jervis playing a role at shooting guard, along with perhaps a more seasoned Kur Teng, and Jordan Scott also available at shooting guard and on the wing, you can see the makings of a dynamite backcourt.
MORE: Couch: Kur Teng’s parents sacrificed for him to chase the American dream. He’s trying to pay it back at MSU.
If Coen Carr returns at the wing and Cam Ward at power forward, that’s a pretty dang good lineup 1 through 4, with Julius Avent having a role behind Ward and injured transfer Kaleb Glenn in the mix, too. What MSU will need then is a 5 man. Maybe Jesse McCulloch as a redshirt sophomore becomes that guy. But you can see how adding heralded big man Ethan Taylor to this group solves the riddle and makes the Spartans potentially a ridiculously intriguing team a year from now, if key guys with eligibility remaining come back.
MORE: Couch: Analyzing Michigan State basketball’s 2025-26 roster, player by player
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.