Yesterday, Jaren Jackson Jr. committed to Coach Izzo and the Michigan State Spartan basketball team. For those in East Lansing, this had to feel something like vindication and the righting of wrongs done in summer past. After Caleb Swanigan’s surprising turn to West Lafayette, there was a buzz about the Purdue basketball program. We hadn’t landed a player with that kind resume since Coach Painter took over. It felt like the program was at a turning point. We were now a player with the top recruits out of Indiana, no matter how many stars were assigned to them.
Going into yesterday, the rumor was that Purdue was the favorite to land another top recruit in the nation in Jaren Jackson Jr.