Four years ago, Tom Izzo landed an unranked recruit late in the process named Carson Cooper who people didn’t know much about, but who was pegged as a “project” by most recruiting experts.
Izzo had a spot open on his roster, and he needed another big to potentially mold and craft into a future starter. Cooper was on the IMG Academy B team, which is essentially one step below the actual varsity team, and he was one of those late-bloomers that you always hear about.
Cooper wasn’t getting pursued by major programs, and some believed he should even be limited to a walk-on role with Michigan State, but he earned a scholarship and paid his dues early.