Michigan State Spartans McDonald's All-American Game Recruiting Evaluations

Photo Credit: Ten O'Clock Shooters

Last week marked the annual marquee high school all star game featuring some of the nation's top future college players. Last year's game featured the likes of Melo Trimble, D'Angelo Russell, and James Blackmon Jr., all of whom were unanimously selected to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. 

This year's team featured four future Big Ten players in Caleb Swanigan, Deyonta Davis, Diamond Stone, Thomas Bryant, and one player who is being heavily recruited by Michigan: Jaylen Brown. Below I have included my thoughts on each player's performance. It should be noted that although all star games do usually highlight various one vs. one matchups, they leave a bit to be desired when it comes to actually running plays, taking care of the ball, making proper shot selections, etc.

The first part of this breakdown will focus on Michigan State commits Deyonta Davis and Caleb Swanigan and the second part will focus on Indiana commit Thomas Bryant, Maryland commit Diamond Stone and Michigan target Jaylen Brown.

Player Evaluations

- Caleb Swanigan (5-Star Center)

The first thing that stands out with Caleb Swanigan is his size. He looks every bit of the reported 6'8" 270 lbs. For a man of such a stature, Swanigan has great feet and soft hands. He showed the ability to dribble in space (even breaking out an around the back dribble to cut through three defenders), which for a player that size really opens up a lot of things for the offense. Although they were not falling, I did think Swanigan's running hooks looked fluid and natural and with a bit of practice could really add another dimension to the center position.

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One of the knocks on Swanigan is that he is definitely an under the basket player. He did not provide much of a shot blocking threat and will need to use his size to bully players out of the lane at the next level. There were times when taller players were able to track down offensive rebounds. A little work on really blocking out opposing rebounders should alleviate these problems.

Swanigan did take a few shots from distance and his stroke looked smooth and natural but I think he will find more success embracing his post presence. I really see him filling a similar role as Derrick Nix  for the Spartans. I would love to see him as  a guy who you dish the ball to deep in the post to draw in the defense. If Swanigan can prove to be a player who consistently requires double teams, look for him to dish to wide open shooters on the perimeter. The interesting thing about Swanigan is that he could potentially grow into a power forward if he is able to slim down a bit and gain some athleticism, but that is probably two to three years down the road.

- Deyonta Davis (4-Star Power Forward)

Joining Caleb Swanigan in East Lansing for the 2015-2016 season is his AAU teammate Deyonta Davis. Davis is an incredibly long, springy power forward that I found to be extremely frustrating. It's not that he was overmatched talent wise; on the contrary there were stretches in the first half that he looked like the best player on the floor. Early in the first half, Davis showed off his athleticism by skying for offensive rebounds and finishing around the basket. Then Davis completely turned it off. Davis allowed a sequence where he played poor defense on the ball and then failed to block out his man. There was a complete lack of intensity and urgency to secure loose balls and it showed as Davis rarely won 50/50 balls. Towards the end of the game, Davis seemed to show more urgency, but the game was all but over.

If Davis can improve his consistency and can cut down on some errors, I think he can be a great piece for Tom Izzo and the Spartans. Davis reminds me a lot of recent Spartan alum Adreian Payne with his sneaky athleticism and alleged shooting prowess. Davis is the perfect complement to Swanigan in that he provides a bit more athleticism to the frontcourt and would likely be the better candidate to run the deadly pick and pop/roll that Payne was able to execute with perfection. On defense, look for Davis to provide rim protection at the 4 spot. Fortunately for Davis and Spartan fans, I do believe that Izzo will iron out the mental lapses in Davis's game and really help him reach his full potential.

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All of these players return to action in the Jordan Brand Classic on Friday, April 17th. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. EST. The classic will also include Ohio State commit Austin Grandstaff and Illinois commit Jalen Coleman.

Other Links:

- Three Takeaways from Wisconsin vs. Duke

- Jake Layman to Return to Maryland

- Sam Dekker (Wisconsin) Declares For 2015 NBA Draft

- Welcome to Ten O'Clock Shooters!

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