Another offseason means another summer of waiting to see what the Michigan State basketball team does in the transfer portal.
While this portal brings a lot of excitement to many fans across the country, that's not necessarily the case for MSU basketball fans. Tom Izzo has always been outspoken about his feelings on Portal and how it's hurting the game. He has also chosen not to use Portal at all for the past few years, and this decision was a really big loss for the Spartans.
However, this offseason, Izzo began using the transfer portal. First off, I'm really excited about him using Portal. Another offseason without Portal would have been very detrimental to the program. But at the same time, Izzo's strategy and use of portals doesn't make much sense to me.
What's frustrating about Izzo's use of portals is how methodical his approach is. He seems to take time to contact transfers he is interested in and he doesn't take them for visits right away. Izzo doesn't seem interested in getting a contract as soon as possible, which is what most other teams are trying to do.
Recruiting transferees moves very quickly. Izzo's methodical approach works well in high schools, where the recruiting process lasts for years, but she needs to make decisions and act much faster when it comes to transfer schools, where the recruiting process can last for less than a week. This failure to act quickly has left MSU behind the curve and trying to catch up with other teams across the country.
Teams like Indiana and Illinois have already committed multiple transfers to their programs, but Michigan State has only had one visitor to its campus so far.
I also feel like Izzo isn't casting a wide enough net in the portal.
Not every team can get every recruit or transfer they target. So teams need to plan for it and have plenty of options in case their primary target decides to go elsewhere. I don't think this is something Izzo does very well. It appears he's waiting to see if his top targets commit to MSU, and if they don't, he'll find someone new to pursue.
Just think about how many other transfers Izzo could have reached out to and made while waiting for a player or two.
Only time will tell if Izzo's strategy will work. One of his targets could be revealed this week as Frankie Fiddler announces his final decision. However, if Fiddler commits elsewhere, Michigan State will be 2-0 since Jevon Hadley is no longer interested in Michigan State. Izzo will then have to transition to new talent, a process that will take time. So I wish Izzo had more players in case Fiddler committed to green and white.