Tom Izzo said he regrets not recruiting Wisconsin guard John Blackwell

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo spoke highly of Wisconsin’s backfield, especially guard John Blackwell, when he spoke to the media on Wednesday.

The comments came ahead of the 10th-ranked Spartans’ game against the Badgers on Friday night. Wisconsin is coming off a road win over eighth-ranked Illinois on Tuesday, in which Boyd and Blackwell combined for 49 points, five rebounds and nine assists. After seeing that performance, Izzo said he would put this backcourt against any in the league, if not in the entire sport.

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“They probably have the best backcourt duo in the world [Nick] boyd and [John] Blackwell,” Izzo began. “Not only in the league, but in one of the best leagues in the country. Boyd is fast and gets a lot done. Blackwell is…unfortunately, if I didn’t play against him, I think he would be one of my favorite players. Because he can defend, he’s tough, he’s strong, he can drive to the basket, he can shoot threes, he can pass. He’s definitely one of the best players in our league. “

Izzo’s praise didn’t stop there. Blackwell hails from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, right in MSU’s backyard. Wisconsin was the guard’s only Final Four contract out of high school. While he committed to the program early in the cycle, Michigan State was noticeably late to his recruitment.

The Spartans head coach, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, said he still regrets not recruiting Blackwell.

“I want to fire every assistant that went through this with me. The problem is the head coach came down and saw him, too,” Izzo said. “The worst part is when I really started paying attention to him, it was a little later than usual. They gave him the most attention; he was invested there early on. I love everything about Blackwell. I love the family he plays in, and I love that he doesn’t have to take forever to date. He knows what he wants. He didn’t know how it was going to turn out at Wisconsin, and I don’t think they knew… I don’t have a lot of regrets, but that would be just because he had it all, if you ask me… I wanted to fire all my assistants, but I’d probably have to fire myself.”

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In the 2025-26 season, Blackwell averaged 33.5 minutes per game, scoring a career-high 18.7 points, 5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals. As of February 12, he was ranked No. 65 on ESPN’s 2026 NBA Draft rankings. Continued strong play should improve that status, especially against the 10th-ranked Spartans on national television.

As has been the case all season, the performance of the young defenders should go a long way in determining Friday’s outcome.