Tom Izzo has spent years pulling elite talent to East Lansing, and the five-star haul under his watch includes some of the biggest names Michigan State has ever had. Since 247Sports began tracking five-stars in 2003, the Spartans have had nine of them in the Izzo era - and while none of them were outright busts, the production they delivered in green and white still gives you plenty to sort through.
At the top of the pile sits Jaren Jackson Jr., the 2017 commit who turned into a one-year force for Michigan State. He arrived as a late bloomer and left looking like the kind of player coaches dream about: a defender, rebounder, rim protector and scorer who could hurt you from all three levels.
His numbers - 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game - don’t fully capture how valuable he was, especially with his Big Ten-leading 3.0 blocks per game. In this group, he stands out as the most talented five-star Izzo has coached.
Shannon Brown checks in next, and for good reason. The Chicago product was the first true headliner of the 247Sports era, ranked No. 4 in the country when he came to Michigan State in 2003.
Over three seasons, he scored nearly 1,200 points and developed into more than just a leaper; he became a shooter, too, while still bringing that explosive athleticism that made him one of Izzo’s early signature stars. He also went on to build a solid NBA career.
Miles Bridges lands at No. 3, and leaving him off would have been impossible. He was one of the most gifted players ever to wear a Spartans uniform, even if his Michigan State story ended without the championship run many expected.
Bridges could have gone pro after one season, but he came back for a sophomore year in hopes of helping Izzo win a second national title. That team rolled through the regular season before falling to Syracuse in the Round of 32.
Bridges still put up more than 1,000 points in two seasons, averaged 17 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, and earned All-American honors as a sophomore.
Gary Harris follows closely behind. Like Bridges, he spent only two seasons in East Lansing, and like Bridges, he left with the sting of a tournament loss on a loaded team that looked built to go deeper.
Harris averaged 16.7 points in that 2014 season, shot about 35 percent from 3, and added 4.0 rebounds per game. The Indiana guard was one of the most complete players Izzo ever coached, and he reached 1,000 career points in just two years.
Branden Dawson comes in at No. 5, though injuries make this one feel like a what-if story. A knee injury early in his career changed the trajectory, but even with that setback, Dawson became a star and a leader.
He averaged 10.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks over his career, and before the injury, he looked like a true freshman with the body and game of a veteran Big Ten starter. He still helped Michigan State reach a Final Four.
Joshua Langford is next, and injuries are the only reason he isn’t higher. The 6-foot-5 guard from Alabama came in with Bridges, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward in 2016 and brought one of the purest jumpers Michigan State has seen.
But his career was derailed by health issues, limiting him to 13 games in 2018-19 and costing him the entire 2019-20 season. He was in the middle of a breakout before getting hurt, and if that never happens, he’s probably a top-five name on this list without much debate.
Delvon Roe lands at No. 7, another player whose career was shaped by knee problems. He was never a big scorer, averaging 6.1 points per game across three seasons, but he was exactly the kind of teammate coaches love.
Roe’s career was cut short a year early, and that kept him from climbing higher here. Still, he left behind one unforgettable moment: ducking at just the right time on the pass sequence from Draymond Green to Korie Lucious before Lucious hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Maryland to send Michigan State to the Sweet 16 in 2009-10.
Max Christie is eighth, and that placement says more about the depth of this list than it does about him. In one season at Michigan State, he averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 38.2% from the field and just over 31 percent from 3. He likely would have benefited from another year in East Lansing, but he’s now an NBA starter, which says plenty about the talent he brought with him.
Xavier Booker rounds out the list at No. 9.
The raw talent was obvious, and he showed flashes of what he might become, but he was still very much a work in progress. After two years, he chose to restart his career at UCLA.
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