Champions Classic - Michigan State vs. Kentucky

Michigan State forward Alex Gauna shoots a free-throw in the second half of their Champions Classic game against Kentucky. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

EAST LANSING -- More than a month after the end of the basketball season, two Michigan State veterans are still undecided about whether they will return to the program this fall.

Guard Russell Byrd and forward Alex Gauna are both mulling the decision to transfer for their final year of eligibility, Spartans coach Tom Izzo said Thursday morning on The Game 730 AM in Lansing. Both are on track to have finished their degrees before the fall semester, meaning they could enroll in a graduate program at a different school and be eligible to play immediately.

Byrd, Izzo said, is leaning toward using his fifth year of eligibility at a smaller school. San Francisco State, a Division 2 school where Byrd's father Kelly played, is a possibility.

His decision won’t be made for “another couple of weeks,” Izzo said. Byrd needs to take one more summer class to complete his degree.

Gauna has a meeting scheduled with Izzo Friday when the two will talk through the decision.

“I’m trying to help him make that tough decision, does he move on, he hasn’t played enough, and yet I keep thinking that Alex is good enough to help us some,” Izzo said.

“It’s a mutual thing where we definitely would take him back but I’m also trying to help him make some of those life-changing decisions.”

Gauna averaged 7.1 minutes in 29 games last season, averaging 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. Byrd, who was ranked among the top 100 players in the country by multiple recruiting services before coming to Michigan State, appeared in 24 games and averaged 7.3 minutes per game.

Michigan State still has one scholarship available for next season regardless of whether Gauna and Byrd stay or leave, following the departure of Gary Harris to the NBA. Izzo said Thursday he still hopes to fill that scholarship for next year. The team has been linked to multiple transfers.

“I’m hoping we may sign one more kid,” Izzo said. “I can’t talk about any of them but we’ve had a couple up and we’re figuring out whether we want to go big or go small.”

• Download the MSU basketball on MLive app for iPhone and Android

• Download the MSU football on MLive app for iPhone and Android

•Follow Mike Griffith and Kyle Austin on Twitter

•Like MLive's Michigan State Spartans Facebook page