With the early signing period opening on Wednesday, the Michigan State men's basketball program has officially signed three class of 2024 prospects: four-star point guard/combo guard Jase Richardson, four-star shooting guard Kur Teng and three-star power forward Jesse McCulloch.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, director of recruiting operations Jon Borovich and the rest of the staff have put together the No. 13-ranked 2024 recruiting class as of press time, and could still look to add to it later as the Spartans are still in pursuit of five-star small forward Bryson Tucker. In fact, Izzo noted at his press conference on Wednesday that "there could be one more" player to be added to the class in the future.
Here is some more background information on each of the 2024 signees.
-Name: Jase Richardson
-High School: Christopher Columbus High School (Miami, Florida)
-Commitment date: Richardson committed to MSU on Oct. 15, 2023
-Rating: Four-star
-Height: 6-foot-3
-Weight: 180 pounds
-Position rank: No. 11 point guard in 2024 class
-Overall rank: No. 39 prospect nationally
-Other notable offers: Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Cincinnati, Florida, Kansas, San Diego State, Stanford, UNLV, USC, Washington and others
-Izzo on Richardson: "In Jase Richardson, we get a little bit of everything. We get a guy who can shoot it. And probably the best thing is, it is an honor to have a son of a former player that is a big-time recruit. He's right on the edge, hopefully he'll be a McDonald's All-American by the time the year's up. He's ranked in the top-25 or 30 from most polls. He's ranked among the three-best combo guards, and I think that's what he is. He had a knee injury. Two years ago, I saw him play, and he was good, but he was just coming back. I saw him last summer and his game has elevated to a whole new level, and now, he's even taken it to another level. I think the health of him has made a big difference.
"He can pass it, he can shoot it, he can defend it and he can rebound it. He's a very aggressive rebounder. As he gets stronger — and maybe that would be the only thing right now — as he gets stronger like his dad went through, I think this kid has a chance to be one of the great combo guards because I think he could do it in a lot of different ways that we've had.
"His family, his mother was a coach, believe it or not. He's got a brother (who plays), so it's all in the family, they all are big basketball nuts. He lives, eats and sleeps it, and I think he's gonna be a great addition to add on to what we have, but (also) on what we need. And I think that's gonna be really important to us in the near future."
Notable: Of course, Richardson is the son of former Spartan Jason Richardson, who helped lead Michigan State to a national championship under Izzo in 2000. Jason then went on to play 15 seasons in the NBA. However, Jase was adamant that where his father played had no impact on his personal college decision. He wants to leave his "own legacy" in East Lansing. Jase took an official visit to MSU in September, and committed the following month. After coming off of a significant knee injury that required surgery following his sophomore season, which sidelined him for 10 months, Jase had a big summer and shined on the Nike EYBL summer circuit.
"I chose Michigan State because of the relationships I’ve built with the entire coaching staff and team," Richardson told Spartans Illustrated after his commitment. "I feel like this is the place where I can develop and be the best version of myself."
-Name: Kur Teng
-High School: Bradford Christian Academy (Lawrence, Massachusetts)
-Commitment date: Teng committed to Michigan State April 3, 2023
-Rating: Four-star
-Height: 6-foot-4
-Weight: 185 pounds
-Position rank: No. 12 shooting guard in 2024 class
-Overall rank: No. 43 prospect nationally
-Other notable offers: Auburn, Cincinnati, Clemson, Georgetown, Iowa, Massachusetts, Miami (FL)., Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, TCU, Temple, Texas A&M, Washington State, Wichita State and others.
-Izzo on Teng: "Since he was the first player to commit, he was a top-50 guard, and yet he's been kind of not as heralded as some top-50 guards would be. He's been ranked in the top-10 (or so) of shooting guards most of his career. He's played for a guy in Vinny (Pastore) out at Bradford Christian Academy that is unique. I've never seen a guy that coaches as hard as he does, and because of that, this kid has been coached ... His family is from Africa, and he has incredible respect for the game, for people.
"He shot 48 percent, almost 49 percent from the three (point line), he can really shoot it, and averaged 18 points (per game) in a pretty good league. We think he's got a body that will be more ready to play because we very well (may) lose three guards and I think it's gonna be very important on what we recruit, and yet, between the two classes, we're trying to shore up some of those guard positions."
Notable: Teng kept his recruitment mostly close to the vest, but he eventually committed to the Spartans in April. He plays his high school basketball at Bradford Christian Academy, but is also and a standout on the national circuit for Mass Rivals. Teng is a three-level scoring threat and his pace of play often sets him apart. Majak Wenyin, Teng's trainer and mentor, and the founder of So Elite Basketball, believes Teng is the perfect fit for Izzo and Michigan State men's basketball.
"He is very good off the ball,” Wenyin said about Teng back in April. “So I think that personally for him, that's why he thought he was a good fit at Michigan State because he comes off a lot of pin-downs. He's great at coming off of pin-downs, so we thought just that playing style over there fits him perfectly with him being able to score on the ball and off the ball ... I think (MSU fans) are gonna love Kur."
-Name: Jesse McCulloch
-High School: Lutheran High School East (Cleveland, Ohio)
-Commitment date: McCulloch committed to Michigan State on April 20, 20223
-Rating: Three-star
-Height: 6-foot-11
-Weight: 230 pounds
-Position rank: No. 30 power forward in 2024 class
-Overall rank: N/A
-Other notable offers: Alabama, Butler, Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin and others
-Izzo on McCulloch: "He has something that we think is very valuable — he can really shoot the ball. He's got more weight, and he's got more energy. He's a guy that's excited to be here. He averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists (per game). His team has played very well, so he's won a lot in Cleveland. He's got to learn to play harder, like every big guy in America has to learn how to do.
"But I think we're attracted to him because he can shoot it and he communicated really well on the floor. Watched him in an AAU tournament, and he talked better (as a big) than any guard I've ever seen. Then we got a chance to meet his family. His parents were just unbelievable — more appreciative, not entitled. So we looked at Jesse early, we liked Jesse early, we moved on Jesse early."
Izzo also noted that he thinks McCulloch could "move up" in the recruiting rankings.
Notable: McCulloch projects as a stretch-four at the college level who can space the floor for the Spartans with his shooting, but at 6-foot-11, he's also not afraid to play in the post, rebound and defend as well. McCulloch should have an opportunity to play himself into four-star status with a big senior year at Lutheran East. McCulloch is coming off of leading the Falcons to a state championship, the program's second in three seasons. Most recently, he played on the Nike EYBL circuit with the Indy Heat Gym Rats this past summer. McCulloch committed to the Spartans in April because of the "family environment" within the program. He took two official visits to Michigan State, one in March, and one more recently in September. He has grown close to the entire coaching staff.
"I would say I talk to Coach Doug (Wojcik) the most, and Coach (Tom) Izzo, but really, the whole staff contacts me," McCulloch told Spartans Illustrated in September. "I love talking to Coach Monty (Mark Montgomery), and Coach TK (Thomas Kelley) always keeps it real with me. Coach JB (Jon Borovich) always reaches out. I love talking to Coach Izzo. He's always gonna just get you ready for that next level. Coach TK, I've been talking to him a lot. He always keeps it real, telling me where I need to work on my game. You can't really just name one of them, they (all) always reach out."
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