Michigan State Basketball: Spartans land class of 2022 top-50 forward Jaxon Kohler

Jaxon Kohler is the second commitment to Michigan State basketball’s 2022 recruiting class.

The first commitment to head coach Tom Izzo’s 2022 recruiting class was Trejuan Holloman who is a four-star point guard. Kohler, Michigan State Basketball’s second commit, according to 247Sports, is a four-star ranked recruit and the 62nd nationally ranked player in the 2022 class.

ESPN has Kohler ranked higher than 247Sports at No. 40 nationally and he continues to impress those who follow and report on high school basketball recruiting. He is listed at six foot nine and 250 pounds and will more than likely play power forward for the Spartans. He had offers from schools such as Kansas, Illinois, Texas Tech, USC, Iowa, and others.

As seen above, Kohler had a great summer and some have nicked named him “Jokic’s little brother” and that is an amazing compliment. The hope is that he can become the next Luka Garza and even if he doesn’t become a dominant big man for the Spartans, his future is bright and Michigan State received a commitment from a rising star.

Also, even if he develops into an Ethan Happ as David Klein suggests, Izzo and his staff must be thrilled that Kohler picked the Spartans as Happ was very productive when he played at Wisconsin.

Kohler is from Mount Pleasant, UT but plays for Southern California Academy program. He recently took an official visit to East Lansing which by all accounts, went very well.

Michigan State did not have a post player for the 2021 class nor did they bring in a big man from the transfer portal this offseason. The Spartans also lost a post player to the transfer portal this offseason so Kohler committing to Michigan State is good for the future even if he does not contribute a ton his freshman season.

Kohler also fits the mold of Izzo and his coaching philosophy as he by all accounts, has a high basketball IQ who focuses on watching film of former and current NBA greats so that he can become a better overall player. He looks to get his teammates involved but when he gets the ball one on one in the post, he looks to score and often does. He can also shoot from the outside but his specialty is scoring with his back to the basket posting up on the block.

The Spartans basketball program is known to put a lot of emphasis on their weight lifting and conditioning program and it will help develop Kohler into a potential dominant big man in the Big Ten by his sophomore or junior year potentially.

Michigan State should continue to build momentum in recruiting and the recent news of a NIL deal for all men’s basketball players could only help. Look for Izzo and his staff to add possibly a third student-athlete to the 2022 class by November and maybe even a late spring signee as well.