Tom Izzo as president?
No, he wouldn’t return to Washington. But he’s certainly working the Washington DC area as a talented politician these days.
Michigan State Basketball made his second commitment for 2025 as four-star recruit Cam Ward announced his commitment Tuesday night.
Ward, 6-foot-8, 205 pounds, is ranked as the nation’s 50th overall player and 14th power forward, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings. The Largo High and Upper Marlboro, Maryland, product chose MSU over finalists Maryland, Virginia and Kansas State.
“Coach Izzo being a family man, he was always the guy for me,” Ward said during his announcement via the 247Sports YouTube channel. “He says I remind him of a lot of the athletic pros he has in the league, with Draymond Green and Miles Bridges and things like that. So it’s just a matter of trusting him to get me there and then to simply trust him to produce another wing at some point at the pro level.
“Him off the field, he’s incredible. Honestly, I feel like it was my home once I got there with the players and the staff. Everything made it feel like the best .”
Ward joins four-star swingman Jordan Scott in Izzo’s next recruiting class. Scott, 6-7, 185 pounds, the No. 91 player nationally and No. 20 small forward, hails from South Lakes High in Reston, Virginia.
Ward was named Maryland’s Gatorade Player of the Year and a first-team All-Met selection by the Washington Post in 2023-24 after leading Largo to the 2A state boys title in March. He averaged 26.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.7 steals, 2.4 assists and 2.1 blocks as the Lions finished with a 25-2 record while playing for his father, Rodney. Ward’s mother, Ayana Ball-Ward, is the school’s athletic director.
“Basketball is big. It’s always been something that’s been around me since I was little,” Cam Ward said. “So once I found a little love for it, it was always a thing with them. And then also, just watching them coach, seeing them influence other people, somehow started to inspire me to just enjoy the game and then play it at a high level too.
Ward averaged 27 points and shot 77.4 percent in four July games with Team Durant at the Peach Jam Invitational in Georgia. He also averaged 24.3 points with 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the Nike EYBL spring for Team Durant, making 62.7% of his shots.
“They pick someone who wants to win and someone who comes from a program that wins a lot,” Ward said. “So I would say Spartans fans got a guy, a good person and just someone who wants to win and continue to help the Spartans win.”
2025 Champions Classic
The Spartans will face Kentucky in next year’s Champions Classic on November 18, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York. MSU will face Kansas on Nov. 12 in Atlanta in this year’s Champions Classic.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball adds top 50 forward Cam Ward to 2025 class
