One-time Michigan State hoops recruit Brian Bowen from Saginaw picks Louisville

What for months had been one of the biggest questions in the college basketball world ended with one of the worst-kept secrets of the past few days.

Brian Bowen, a Saginaw native and five-star recruit, announced today on Twitter that he will play next season for Louisville and coach Rick Pitino. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Thursday that Bowen already had enrolled at the school.

It ends a long recruitment that, in February, had Bowen listing Michigan State, Texas, Creighton, Arizona and North Carolina State as his top choices.

More:Top basketball recruit and MSU target Brian Bowen to announce college decision Saturday

However, as many of those programs either retained players who were expected to enter the NBA Draft or made coaching changes, Bowen continued to delay a decision. A number of schools reportedly made late pushes, including Oregon, DePaul and Florida State in recent weeks.

The Spartans essentially had been out of the picture for Bowen after Miles Bridges opted to return for his sophomore season.

Tom Izzo began recruiting Bowen, the 6-foot-7 swingman, before he started his first two years of high school playing for Saginaw Arthur Hill. The McDonald’s All American spent his last two years at La Lumiere School in Indiana, where he was prep school teammates with MSU signee Jaren Jackson Jr.

More:How Michigan State recruits fared in McDonald's All-American games

Bowen is ranked No. 13 nationally in the class of 2017 according to ESPN.com and was the highest-rated uncommitted player remaining in its top 100. He is No. 18 according to 247Sports.com and Scout.com, and No. 20 by Rivals.com.

MSU also missed out on two other high-profile recruits last month when big man Brandon McCoy picked UNLV and combo guard Mark Smith chose Illinois.

The Spartans still have one open scholarship remaining for this fall after signing Jackson and Xavier Tillman, who already has enrolled for summer classes at MSU. Izzo also has two preferred walk-ons arriving in transfer center Braden Burke (Robert Morris) and Southfield Christian guard Brock Washington.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.