Basketball Recruiting: Adreian Payne & Brandan Kearney

Tom Izzo landed his first "blue chip" recruit since Delvon Roe this past week, when Dayton, Ohio's Adreian Payne decided to suit up for the Spartans. He's ranked 23rd in the ESPNU 100 for the class of 2010, and 20th overall in the Rivals 150. He's a 6' 9" multi-dimensional post player, with a ton of (everyone's favorite word) upside.

I've never seen the kid in person, so I can't really give you an opinion on his abilities. However, if you happen to have an ESPN Insider subscription, I would recommend reading Paul Biancardi's writeup on his abilities. They compare his athletic talents to the top-ranked PF in the class, Perry Jones.

And, as I was writing this, an article that started of as an Adreian Payne only blurb has turned into a basketball recruiting joy-fest! Tom has also landed his first recruit for 2011 in SG Brandan Kearney out of Detroit Southeastern. Kearney's resume is impressive, as he was on the USA's FIBA U-16 Team that won the gold medal last summer, and will be coming in the season after current starting SG Chris Allen runs out of eligibility. Rivals.com lists Kearney as a 4-star prospect.