The Michigan State Spartans are considered one of the best teams in the nation this season as they are 9-0, have the early player of the year frontrunner in Denzel Valentine and are likely to be the number one team in the next poll. Tom Izzo and the Spartans are using their success in recent years to their advantage in recruiting as they currently have the number three class for 2016 but it seems like that class could get even stronger as five-star shooting guard Josh Jackson seems to be heavily leaning towards Michigan State, according to Adam Zagoria and Chip Miller of SNY.tv.
By now many of the top recruits in the 2016 class have already decided where they will play their college basketball but Jackson is the best guy still available. Jackson is a consensus top three player in the class and is even ranked first by some outlets. The 6 foot-7 shooting guard is from Detroit, Michigan and has relationships with some of Michigan States commits so that may play a huge factor in his decision as he said "it would be real hard" to not commit to Michigan State.
The big recruit Michigan State has gotten for the 2016 class is Miles Bridges a five-star small forward and Jackson said that Bridges committing to Michigan State is helping Izzo's cause.
"Having Miles definitely helped them out. He's one of my best friends on the circuit, one of my favorite guys to play with and against, so he really helped out," said Jackson.
While there are plenty of factors that would make MSU seem like a lock to land Jackson it doesn't seem like that is the case. Jackson's official list is down to Michigan State, Arizona, Kansas, UNLV and UCLA and the only school he has an official visit set up to is Arizona which would seem to bode well for Sean Miller and the Wildcats.
As of right now many of the experts see it as a close race between Arizona and Michigan State to land Jackson with the Spartans having the slightest of edges, according to 247 Sports. Based on Jackson's latest comments it would seem like Michigan State has a significant lead but the fact that his only scheduled visit is to Arizona would make it seem like this is as close a race as the experts think. The fact that Jackson hasn't taken any official visits yet likely means that a decision isn't all that close but these comments have to make Spartans fans feel pretty confident right now. Jackson's decision will have a big impact on the rankings for 2016 classes and if Michigan State could land him it would be very hard to find a better class in the nation.
