Caleb Swanigan to Michigan State: Spartans Land 5-Star Center Prospect

One of the class of 2015's crown jewels made a huge decision Friday as center Caleb Swanigan committed to play for Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans.

Swanigan announced his decision on Twitter:

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Swanigan is a powerful 6'8", 265-pound center from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is rated as a 5-star prospect by 247Sports, and he ranks as the No. 4 player at his position, No. 14 recruit overall and the top player in his state.

The Homestead High School standout is an absolute monster in the paint, and he was recruited by many of the very best college basketball programs in the nation.

Even with so many tempting offers on the table, though, Swanigan wanted to take his time when it came to deciding on a school, according to Jeff Rabjohns of Peegs.com:

It certainly couldn't have been easy for Swanigan to whittle his choices down, especially with the likes of Kentucky, Arizona and Duke also courting him, per 247Sports.

Seth Davis of CBS Sports pointed out that any program would have been lucky to land a stud prospect of Swanigan's ilk:

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Swanigan is his rapid improvement. According to Justin Kenny of The News-Sentinel, Homestead High School head coach Chris Johnson believes Swanigan has come a long way over the past few years:

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It's night and day compared to where he was as an eighth grader. Even last year when we went on our run (to semi-state) you could see that he was starting to become the man and starting to understand what it was all about.

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Part of that likely has to do with the fact that he has grown into his body and become a true physical specimen.

It is extremely difficult to move Swanigan away from the basket, which is why he may very well be the pre-eminent rebounder in this recruiting class, per Evan Daniels of Scout.com:

Since Swanigan is already big and strong enough to play at the collegiate level, he figures to be a major factor as a freshman. That has become the expectation for all top recruits in college basketball, and there is every reason to believe he will live up to it.

The big question relates to how long he will remain in college. Many in his position are one-and-done guys, but Swanigan's decision will ultimately rely on his health and how well he performs in his first season.

He already seems physically ready to make the leap to the NBA, but at least one year of college should work wonders for him in terms of gaining an even greater understanding of the game.

If he lives up to his immense potential, then Swanigan could be one of the most dominant players in college basketball—regardless of how long he decides to stay.

He will also prove huge for the Spartans next season as they lose Travis Trice and Branden Dawson to graduation. Swanigan will provide Izzo with a dominant post presence and an elite skill set that he's not always able to lure to East Lansing

Recruit "star" ratings and rankings via 247Sports, unless otherwise noted.

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