Norridge, Ill. – Tom Izzo had trouble driving the golf cart, but Jaden Schutt didn’t hold it against him.

Schutt, a priority 2022 target for Izzo’s Spartans, laughed as he discussed his recent official visit to East Lansing, which included Izzo’s usual guided tour in a golf cart.

“The golf cart didn’t work very well,” Schutt said with a smile. “I think it was in park.”

But if the transportation wasn’t up to speed, the rest of Schutt’s visit went A-OK. The 6-foot-5 dead-eye shooter from Yorkville, Ill., has been to campus several times before on unofficial visits, but with Covid restrictions finally lifted, the Schutt family was able to peek behind the curtain of a powerhouse program that has made every NCAA Tournament since 1997.

“It was cool to see the facilities,” said Schutt, who visited Michigan State during the weekend of June 18. “It was cool to see the coaches in person and drive around and see the campus.”

“They roll out the red carpet,” said Jeff Schutt, Jaden’s father. “That’s the only official visit we’ve been on, and we were really impressed.”

Schutt, who was hosted by his former AAU teammate Max Christie, hung out with MSU players in the dorms, had dinner with the coaching staff and played in an open gym session where he was guarded by Christie and forward Malik Hall.

“I played good,” Schutt said. “It was definitely cool to see where I would get shots with those guys. Being with those bigs who know how to set screens, learning angles … so it’s definitely good for a shooter to be with those bigs.”

This past weekend at the Ridgewood Shootout in suburban Chicago, three Big Ten programs tracked Schutt wherever he went: MSU, Illinois and Iowa. The senior-to-be at Yorkville Christian has offers from all three, in addition to Louisville, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Marquette, Wisconsin, Xavier and more.

Izzo was joined at the 84-team high school event by assistants Doug Wojcik and Dwayne Stephens. Izzo and Wojcik sat behind a basket in close proximity for Schutt’s games.

Known as a shooter – he made a state-record 17 triples in one game as a sophomore and buried 130 total that season – Schutt showed off solid athleticism with a pair of dunks against Niles North, including a bring-down-the-house, 1-handed alley-oop flush on a fast break. With enough size to play the 2 or 3 in college, Schutt is outstanding coming off screens or dribbling a couple times into his shot.

When AAU play resumes in July, Schutt will run with the Illinois Wolves, a highly-respected program led by coach Mike Mullins.

Yorkville Christian is a small Class A school that plays against mostly inferior high school competition, so it’s on the AAU circuit where Schutt has proven he can compete with anyone.

Mullins founded the Wolves in 1999 and since then has coached future stars such as Evan Turner, Keita Bates-Diop and Frank Kaminsky. When asked if Schutt is the best shooter he’s ever coached, Mullins says, “I’ll tell you that on July 26,” referring to the end of AAU play.