Michigan State basketball: 3 blue-chip recruits most likely to sign with Spartans
2. Michigan State basketball recruiting targets: Jaden Akins, PG
Another Michigan high schooler is a top target for the Spartans in 2021. Akins, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Farmington, could make a ton of sense as a guy who can develop over four years with Izzo.
Trending. 5 most underrated players in Michigan State basketball history. light
The Spartans already have a point guard in the fold with Rocket Watts, who is set to take over for Cassius Winston as Michigan State’s floor general as a sophomore. Michigan State also remains in the mix for Karim Mane, a five-star recruit in the class of 2020 who is deciding whether to go to college or stay in the NBA Draft.
If Mane chooses to come to Michigan State, that would likely take away a scholarship that could go to Akins. The odds of Mane coming to East Lansing remain unclear, so if he stays in the draft it increases the chances Akins will commit.
Akins could follow Watts’s path to playing time, working off the ball as a freshman and running the second unit at the point. This path of development could lead Akins into the starting lineup by his junior year when Watts will have graduated.
The 247Sports Composite has Akins as the No. 71 overall recruit, No. 10 point guard and the No. 2 player in Michigan. If Izzo is able to keep Akins in the state and away from potential Big Ten rivals it would be a big win for the Spartans.