When Cassius Winston entered high school at University of Detroit Jesuit in 2012, he was already a phenom on the hardwood, and deemed the next best thing out of Michigan (along with a certain fellow by the name of Josh Jackson). Only entering his senior year season at the "Jes", Winston has more than lived up to those expectations, leading the Cubs to the Breslin Center in each of the last two seasons, and Rivals.com ranks him as high No.28 in the entire nation.

So what is next for the 6-footer?

Michigan State University! After a much-publicized recruitment, Winston gave his pledge to Tom Izzo and the Spartans on Friday, during a ceremony at his school. Not much of a surprise, Winston choosing MSU over Stanford, and Pittsburgh, he was glad to finally get the entire process over with.

"It was huge relief just to get it all over with," Winston laughed. "But I'm excited for the next step.

"I just felt it (Michigan State), was the best place for me. They want to win, and they want to win as a family. That's my kind of environment."

Winston visited Michigan State on last Saturday for their football game against Oregon, in which they hosted a number of other high-profile basketball and football recruits. The visit was all that Winston needed to experience to finalize his decision, which he said he made on Thursday, when he gave Izzo a call.

"He was geeked too," Winston laughed.

So what is Izzo getting in Winston? The next Magic Johnson? Steve Smith? Mateen Cleaves? Drew Nietzel? Kalin Lucas? Keith Appling? How about all of them?

All of those players were great high schools players from the state of Michigan, and went on to have outstanding careers in East Lansing. And Winston is next up. He's a true floor general, like Cleaves was, with the ability to make those around him better. A thinking-man's type of player, "Cash Money" has a high basketball IQ, like Magic did, but he can also score the ball, like a Smith could. Some might say that it's too early to place that much pressure on Winston's shoulder already, but if anyone has proven that they can handle the hype, it's him.

"It's a blessing to be even mentioned with those names," Winston said. "If I continue to work and do my thing, I can accomplish what they did, and hopefully more."

Winston said his goal is to win a National Championship at State, something they haven't done since 2000. And with the current players they have coming in, including top 20 player, Josh Langford, and big man, Nick Ward, the Spartans have a bright future, and might not have to wait long for that third title. What would really put the icing on the cake with Winston's picking MSU, is if he were able to get five-star small forward, and fellow Michigander, Miles Bridges, to join him. The two played AAU ball together wit The Family, and have great chemistry on and off the court.

"Of course I'm going to try to get Miles Bridges to MSU, but at the end of the day, it's his decision," said Winston. "I'm an optimistic guy, so of course I feel good. But I honestly don't know where he is going."