Michigan State basketball: Trey Townsend could be a legitimate transfer option

Townsend, an Oxford, Mich., native could very well hit the transfer portal soon and Michigan State would be wise to get in on the action. He’ll have plenty of potential suitors (everyone watched him drop 17 on Kentucky and 30 on NC State) but being the in-state program has to give Tom Izzo and MSU a leg up here. There would likely be some mutual interest there.

While he has yet to hit the portal, it feels inevitable at this point.

But would he fit in at Michigan State? Malik Hall is gone and Townsend is a very similar player with a similar build. Malik was 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds while Townsend stands 6-foot-6 and 228 pounds. Their games are also similar. They’re aggressive with the ball in their hands and get a lot of work done down on the block. Townsend actually attempted half the amount of 3-pointers that Malik did this season. He’s not a shooter, but he is effective down low and can hit his free throws (78 percent).

If Izzo wants an ideal replacement for Hall, Townsend would be the guy. The only problem here is that he wouldn’t stretch the floor like you would ideally want from a forward. He’d likely slide into that three role so Xavier Booker could play the four and hopefully Izzo addressed the center spot in the portal, but it would take away a lot of shooting from the lineup. Sure, he’d be aggressive in the post which is something Michigan State basketball desperately needs, but he’s not going to step out and hit three regularly — although he can hit them (38 percent on 12-of-32 this year).

No one would say “no thanks” to Townsend in a Spartan uniform, but you’d have to take the good (post production) with the bad (spacing). Is that worth it for Izzo and would that make the 2024-25 team better?