Michigan State basketball is one of two teams that seem to be finalists for Colorado wing transfer J’Vonne Hadley.
Don’t be alarmed, Spartan fans, Tom Izzo is actually using the transfer portal. According to reports, the Hall of Fame Michigan State basketball coach has set up a Zoom call with Colorado transfer J’Vonne Hadley on Monday.
This is a pretty big deal considering Iowa State seems to be the only other team making a serious effort to land him at this point. These two Zoom calls feel like they’re the two finalists for Hadley. This means that Izzo has to make a relatively quick decision about whether this is the right fit for the program or if he wants to wait it out for another wing.
The fit does make sense, though.
Hadley is listed as a guard, but he stands 6-foot-6 and would likely slide into that three spot on the wing, moving Jaden Akins over to shooting guard where he’s most comfortable. I think this would allow Akins to flourish and transform into the player we all expected this year. Hadley has the size for the three-spot and he can space the floor a bit as he shoots about 42 percent from three (although he didn’t shoot many this past season) and he averaged 11.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He crashes the glass at an elite level for a guard/wing.
Rebounding and defense (1.2 steals per game) have to be what drew Izzo to Hadley in the first place and his shooting numbers and ability to get to the basket and create for himself are impressive. He checks a lot of boxes for Michigan State.
But Iowa State seems to always be hanging around that portal and they’re going to make this tough for the Spartans. Fortunately for Michigan State basketball, it has the upper-hand when it comes to connections. Hadley played with Tyson Walker in 2020-21 at Northeastern and he also attended the same high school as Tre Holloman in Minnesota.
Let’s see if Izzo can close the deal and check one task off the offseason to-do list.
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