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The Greater Lansing Sports Magazine

Spartan Basketball Commemorative Issue

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REGIONAL BUSINESS TRAVEL TRUST

M A K I N G Y O U R C O N N E C T I O N S

Making Your Connections

Together we can make a difference.

Capital Region International Airport is worth about $1 billion annually to theregional economy and a critical component for a strong economy. That’s whycommunity leaders formed the Regional Business Travel Trust—to give thebusiness community a greater role in helping strengthen air service in our region.

As a Travel Trust member you will be informed of the latest developments at theairport and you can let us know what you think should be our highest priorities inrecruiting new air service.

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SPORT CONTENTS

PSYCHOLOGY

A Week Of MSU-phoriaSpartans Provide NCAA Thrills And Therapy

By DR. JOHN BRACCIO

08

MEDICINE

A Healthy Dose Of HeroismSpartans Overcome Injuries, Illnesses To Triumph

By DR. JEFFREy KOVAN

13

EB-SERVATION06

FINISH LINE

Triumphs In Trying TimesPride, Persistence Create A Season To Remember

By MARK HOLLIS

56

MEDIA

Green Power In MotownFinal Four Weekend Was A Detroit Delight

By FRED HEUMANN

10

16 bumpy roads & expresswaysSpartans Took A Tricky Route To Reach Downtown Detroit

BY ERNIE BOONE

20 IZZo, waLToN Lead THe wayCoach, Senior Guard Push Spartans To Be All They Can Be

BY JACK EBLING

30 LuCas LearNs, Leads CHampsPoint Guard Sparkles As League MVP, But Is Far From Done

BY DAVID BIRKETT

36 TeN sHINING momeNTsThe 2008-09 Spartans Left Indelible Memories

BY PAVEL KOFMAN

40 seasoN eNds, suCCess does NoTSpartans Could Be Back In Final Four Next Year In Indy

BY JACK EBLING

Green And GrowingBasketball Brings Spartans, Non-Spartans Together

BY JACK EBLING

26

47 Fans Get Extra “Home Games”By Doug Warren

48 From China To Championship By Zach Ebling

50 Other Champs Invade BreslinBy Brendan Dwyer

52 MSU Women Make HistoryBy Lisa Byington

sparTaN basKeTbaLL CommemoraTIVe Issue 3

Zach EblingA seven-letter winner and track standout at Okemos High from 2001-04, Zach played two seasons of football at Kalamazoo College. After back-to-back leg injuries ended that career, he defied the odds and completed the Beijing International Marathon a year later. At age 22, he lives in China and conducts international business, teach-es English, acts, models and runs. He’s SPORT’s Asia correspondent.

PUBlISHERNBB Publishing

EDITORJack Ebling

ASSISTAnT EDITORSAndy FlanaganDoug Warren

COnTRIBUTInG WRITERSDavid BirkettErnie BooneDr. John BraccioLisa ByingtonBrendan DwyerJack EblingZach EblingFred HeumannMark HollisPavel KofmanDr. Jeffrey KovanDoug Warren

PHOTOGRAPHYMSU Athletic CommunicationsAl GoldisTerri ShaverJ. Robin Sumbler

MAGAZInE DESIGn & lAYOUTVision Creative

PRInTInGMillbrook Printing, Co.

MAIlERAldinger’s, Inc.

EDITORIAl OffICE1223 Turner St., Suite 300Lansing, Michigan 48906(517) 455-7810

www.SportLansing.com

Copyright © 2009 NBB Publishing.All rights reserved.

AssistsSPORT CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

The Greater Lansing Sports Magazine

Volume #1 • Issue #8aprIL & may 2009

SPORT, The Greater Lansing Sports Magazine is published monthly by NBB Publishing with offices at 1223 Turner St., Suite 300, Lansing, MI 48906. Postage is paid under USPS Permit #979.

Subscriptions: One copy of SPORT, The Greater Lansing Sports Magazine, is mailed complimentary to qualified business addresses in the Greater Lansing metropolitan area. Residential, household, promotional, out-of-area and additional subscriptions are available for $18 per year, half of the shelf price of $3 per issue. Subscribe at: www.Sportlansing.com

Postmaster: Address changes should be sent to: SPORT Magazine, 1223 Turner St., Suite 300, Lansing, Michigan 48906.

Fred HeumannA 28-year sportscaster, Fred has spent his entire career in Michigan. Currently the sports director at WLNS-TV, channel 6, in Lansing, he spent 17 years in TV and radio in Detroit and is a multiple award winner, including an Emmy in 1993. Currently a resident of Haslett, Fred is a graduate of Central Michigan, a baseball lover and a fan of the sacrifice bunt.

Pavel KofmanA 2009 graduate of MSU, Pavel was just hired as a producer at WILX-TV, channel 10, in Lansing. He has covered the Spartans for the last four years, including the entire 2009 NCAA Tourna-ment, and has produced “The Jack and Tom Show” on 1320 WILS-AM. He hails from St. Louis, where he grew up on Blues hockey and Cardinals baseball.

Ernie BooneCurrently the sports editor of the Michigan Bulletin, Ernie began writing sports for the Lansing State Journal in 1964. He has cov-ered Spartan basketball tournament action since 1978. He retired from the state Department of Human Services in 1998 after more than 25 years of service. He is married, lives in Lansing and has four adult children, all graduates of Michigan State.

4 aprIL & may 2009 speCIaL edITIoN

Making Dreams Come TrueSpartans Taught Us All To Believe And AchieveBY JACK EBLING

Jack EblingSPORT EDITOR

Jack has covered sports and much more as a writer and broadcaster in Mid-Michigan since 1978. A three-time Michigan Sportswriter of the Year, he was a 2006 inductee into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame. He has written five books – four on Michigan State and one on the Detroit Tigers – and has contributed more than 125 pieces for national publications. The former English teacher and coach spent nearly a quarter-century as a beat writer and columnist for the Lansing State Journal and won 21 major writing awards. He became a sports radio host in 2002 and branched into news talk in 2006. Currently, he hosts “Ebling and You” weekday afternoons and co-hosts “The Jack and Tom Show” Saturdays on 1320 WILS in Lansing. A two-time graduate of MSU, he has lived in the area for 36 years and has helped to raise two remarkable young adults.

SPORT EB-SERVATION

The list of accomplishments was long and impressive for Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans.

Big Ten basketball regular-season champs by four games, the second-most ever.

Uncrowned kings of the Big 12, Pac-10 and Big East with a combined 7-0 mark.

Home of the league’s 2009 Player of the Year and its Coach of the Year/Decade.

Ditto for the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and its No. 1 rebounder.

Twelve straight NCAA Tournament bids, the fourth-longest streak in the nation.

Wins over the reigning champion (twice) and upsets of two region’s No. 1 seeds.

Five Final Fours in 11 seasons, with every four-year performer reaching that goal.

But leave it to a mom with five youngsters in tow to put it all in perspective.

As she sat in Breslin Center the morning after the national championship game, Sue Baylis from Laingsburg took a loving look at her kids and their friends, then said some-thing more important than a 31-7 record ever could.

“They’re our kids’ heroes,” she said. “They’re their reason to dream.”

Their reason to dream… That was it!The lasting impact of the 2008-09 Spar-

tans won’t be measured by triumphs and trophies. Their key contribution was touch-ing our souls.

That was true for kids so young they didn’t know the president’s name but could identify Izzo and for octogenarians who felt just a little younger with each victory.

It was a reality for young athletes who said “Maybe I can!” instead of “Why try?” and for struggling workers who faced challenges


bigger than Hasheem Thabeet.And it was an undeniable fact for hospital

patients and for a city and state that had been given up for dead, if not toe-tagged, amid devastating economic conditions.

Maybe that wasn’t the purpose last sum-mer when Travis Walton and Goran Suton spent hundreds of hours shooting 20-foot jump shots. Whatever it was, don’t tell USC and Louisville.

Maybe the motivation was selfish for Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers. With a Final Four in Detroit in their sights, perhaps the plan was simply to sucker Kansas and slam UConn.

Whatever.The lessons for everyone were simple:

Always dream big. Never give up. And don’t try to do it alone.

The Spartans began dreaming of a long weekend at Ford Field immediately after their blowout by Memphis in the 2008 Sweet 16. They renewed those vows after a hum-bling defeat by top-ranked North Carolina last Dec. 3.

MSU said no to settling when Suton was sidelined by knee surgery and Raymar Mor-gan was unrecognizable with pneumonia/

mononucleosis, then a broken nose. It also fought back after back-to-back losses in Breslin to Northwestern and Penn State.

The way that happened spoke volumes about the people involved and the program they represented. They pulled together, not apart at the seams, then sacrificed, shared and shifted to reach a common goal.

Along the way, the Spartans struck a chord with fans of all ages and allegiances. They appealed to a younger generation and to those who felt younger and regenerated with each win. They brought smiles to the faces of green-blooded fans and to those who never imagined they could be.

But here’s the best part. Somewhere on the road to Detroit, a lot of fans decided to give back. Some had done that all along with devotion and donations. Others were caught up in the moment and came along for a magical ride.

They were there in Breslin to greet the team after a title-clinching win at Indiana. And remembering MSU’s record in March, they said “Next!” as the Spartans moved through the bracket.

Some offered to pay for Digger Phelps’ lobotomy. Others showed up on a Sunday

night to welcome the Midwest Region champs back from Indy.

Don’t think Izzo failed to notice the Final Four sendoff three days later. As he and his players waved to supporters standing along the route to I-96, it was Appreciative Fans Day, not April Fools’ Day.

Though they stayed in Troy and played in Detroit, the Spartans were the toast of Southeastern Michigan and virtually every city in the state, setting attendance records for a Friday practice, a hotel pep rally and the semifinal and final games.

Everyone loves a winner. This affection went far beyond that. One of the most stir-ring scenes came when MSU crept within 13 points of the Tar Heels in the second half. It was topped moments later when the margin swelled and nearly everyone stayed till the bittersweet end.

More dreams were realized than dashed. More games and friends were won than lost.

It was easy being green. And it’s always good to dream.


5627/4-09/78149


A Week Of MSU-phoriaSpartans Provide NCAA Thrills And TherapyBY DR. JOHN BRACCIO

SPORT PSYCHOLOGY

Unemployment at all-time high…

Michigan foreclosures soaring…

Grads leave at alarming rates…

20% Unemployment in Detroit…

U.S. Auto industry on its knees…

Government ready to take over…

Those were the headlines in Detroit when Tom Izzo’s gallant band of Michigan State basketball players began their 2009 run in the NCAA Tournament.

The goal was to reach Ford Field for the Final Four – a dream of Izzo’s since the site was announced. Finally, with wins over athleti-cally blessed USC, defending champ Kansas and overall No. 1 seed Louisville, the drive was alive. A beleaguered state had some-thing to cheer for… and cheer it did!

Detroit picked itself up, dusted itself off and said, “Let’s party!” With its battered image, the city’s psyche couldn’t have received a big-ger boost. From Menominee to Monroe, nearly everyone joined in a State of Michigan love fest. As a participant, I can say it was wonder-ful and psychologically uplifting.

With his emotions on full display for everyone to see and feel, Izzo said he wanted to take the trip down I-96 because he was a Michigan guy – as were eight of his play-ers. He wanted to represent his school, his state and its biggest city. Showing love and appreciation, Detroit returned the favor.

No one will ever forget the euphoria on Saturday, April 4, a sun-splashed day when countless thousands filled Downtown to cel-ebrate together in an often-hostile world. We were psychologically linked at that moment. Then, with a Final Four-record crowd roar-ing after every rebound and basket, the

Spartans fought as furiously as Detroiters must to survive. With that passion, they stunned favored Connecticut.

The championship game against North Carolina brought a deeper sea of green, with more than 60,000 MSU fans cheering long after the outcome had been decided. They told the nation and the world that while Detroit and Michigan are struggling, we are united. We will fight anyone. And even if we are down, we will be back.

As we always have, even before we were the world’s arsenal of democracy in World War II, the people of this state we will work hard, win and take our place among the best in the world. The psychological scoreboard shouted: Go Detroit!… Go State of Michi-gan!… Go MSU!

That relationship needs a bit of explaining. Anyone younger than age 45 can’t remember when the Spartans ruled the state in football on a regular basis. They can’t comprehend the fact that the University of Michigan was less significant in the fall, especially compared to Biggie Munn’s and Duffy Daugherty’s legions. They only know that Detroit and Southeast-ern Michigan have belonged to the Wolverines since Bo Schembechler arrived 40 years ago.

That didn’t mean that MSU hadn’t had moments. It even had won two national titles in basketball and two more in hockey. But this one was different. Unlike when Magic Johnson celebrated in Salt Lake City and Mateen Cleaves was the toast of Indianapolis, this event was ours to see and savor.

More than anything, Detroit needed a big-time winner it could promote as being part of itself. It found one less than 100 miles away. And that relationship grew more in four days than it had in four decades in some ways. It was the first time that East Lansing and Metro Detroit seemed to be one community. The positive energy is still reverberating.

The Spartans and the city needed each other. The result was a symbiotic relation-ship. Each fed on the other and became stronger. Michigan State was almost uni-versally loved, speeding up Mark Dantonio’s claim that the state is getting greener. Detroit adopted Izzo’s team as its own and benefited financially and psychologically.

It was a gaze back at past glories and a glimmer of hope for a brighter future. As Mr. Spock of Star Trek would say, the mindmeld was completely successful. And everyone is better off for it.


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SPORT MEDIA

Green Power In MotownFinal Four Weekend Was A Detroit DelightBY FRED HEUMANN

The final four weekend in Detroit represented so much more than Michigan State simply appearing in college basketball’s last dance. My memories of the weekend and the Spartans’ post-season run include an over-riding sentiment of MSU ownership.

“Ownership” is a word Tom Izzo likes to use a lot. He talks about ownership by his team, ownership by his fan base, ownership by his alumni, ownership by everyone and everything associated with his prestigious basketball program.

Now, Izzo has taken full ownership of the state of Michigan – and so has his school. That was my No. 1 sentiment the whole weekend. And I’m not sure why it took four

full days to make it sink in, because Izzo has owned hoops in this state for the better part of 10 years.

But there was something about this tournament run and the Green and White hysteria that took over the Motor City that made me think a major shift in this state is nearing completion.

I have been fighting the impression that I’m a University of Michigan guy since the

day I returned to Lansing six-and-a-half years ago. True, I did play-by-play for U-M basketball for parts of two seasons – hardly a claim that it is “my school.” And, yes, I used to dance around my dormitory at Central Michigan singing “The Victors.” That had to do with one man: Bo Schem-bechler. I loved Bo Schembechler. That doesn’t make me unique. Tom Izzo loved Bo Schembechler, too.

In fact, he said so at his pre-Final Four press conference. Izzo was talking about how he always stresses defense. And he pointed to his love of Schembechler and Woody Hayes and why they shaped what he is now as a coach. But the Bo regime and


the love affair most neutral fans in our state had with Michigan football for years after Schembechler’s run can now be voiced in the past tense.

This is becoming a Green and White state. That was never more apparent than in the week leading up to and the weekend of the Final Four. Besides all the Spartans in the seats at Ford Field, neutral fans with no tie to any particular school were all about MSU.

Basketball is a very large part of that. Add in the hiring of Director of Athletics Mark Hollis – a young Don Canham – plus the coaching hires since his appointment, and you have a state that is changing from Maize and Blue to Green and White.

That was my overwhelming thought in Detroit and in Indianapolis during the Mid-west Regional: Spartans everywhere. Green and white everywhere. Izzo everywhere. That equals ownership by MSU.

I’ll never forget the walk I made from the Detroit Athletic Club to Ford Field’s media

entrance on Semifinal Saturday, about three hours before the start of the MSU-Connect-icut game. There was so much green on the streets of Detroit, you’d have sworn it was a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The walk took about 10 minutes. For some reason, I wanted it to last four days.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past that many things MSU did athletically were not wise or done with much class. That too can now be stated in the past tense. From a packed pep rally in Troy to the wel-come home at the Breslin Center the day after the championship game, MSU just seems to get it now.

As for this year’s team, I keep thinking about some leaders for the future. One would be Draymond Green. This kid is going to be something special, if not as a player, then certainly as a “program guy,” to bor-row another common Izzo term. As his role on the floor increased, his leadership habits grew to a noticeable extent. He may be the

captain of this team before long.If Green isn’t the captain, it may be

because Delvon Roe will be. There is nothing about this kid not to like, as a player or a person. He is a quote machine. He is respect-ful of others and extremely well-spoken. And he hasn’t scratched the surface of what kind of basketball player he is going to be in the near future.

Korie Lucious is another player who used the tournament as his platform to make a statement for his future. He hit clutch shots, played quality minutes and lived up to the promise I heard about from media members who spend way more time in summer gym-nasiums than I ever will.

So take a collective bow, Spartans and Spartan fans. North Carolina won the tour-nament. But MSU staged a championship weekend that may not be seen again in my lifetime.

I betcha even Bo Schembechler would have had to admit that.


SPORT MEDICINE

A Healthy Dose Of HeroismSpartans Overcome Injuries, Illnesses To TriumphBY DR. JEFFREY KOVAN

Success in sports requires skill, intelligence, passion and an insatiable work ethic to be your best at all times. Despite the best-laid plans, a little luck and good health often mean just as much in propelling a player and a team to championship status.

The 2008-2009 Michigan State men’s basket-ball season saw virtually all these variables, but season-long health concerns made the journey a little more challenging. What a ride! Big wins and tough losses, injuries and illnesses, so-called upsets and eventu-ally a run to the madness of March unlike any other.

The Spartans overcame many obstacles on their way to the Final Four – a meniscus tear in pre-conference play, mononucleosis and pneumonia early in the Big Ten schedule, a severe ankle sprain (in pre-game warm-ups, no less), a nasal fracture during the tournament run and two foot fractures in the championship game.

Goran Suton’s meniscus tear on an early-season trip to Fort Wayne, Ind., set the tone for the struggles ahead. Tough games in Orlando and a lopsided loss to North Carolina in December left few believing a return trip to Ford Field in April was even possible.

But Suton’s surgery and quick return led to a huge win over Texas before Christmas. That rehabilita-tion was essential in propelling the team into Big Ten play with the excitement and energy for a title run.

The conference season started with two road wins. Suddenly, the injury/illness bug bit again. What began as a typical upper-respira-tory infection and fatigue derailed Raymar Morgan’s hopes for Big Ten Player of the year. Diagnosed with pneumonia and mononucleosis, he was sidelined despite a desper-ate attempt to compete.

The team struggled with that absence, too. Uncharacteristic

After tense moments against Southern California and Kansas, an upset of Louisville surprised almost everyone. The real Spartans were finally whole and confident through a three-week run.

A nasal fracture for Morgan in Indianapolis was a brief setback. His new-look mask and refusal to be denied led to a breakout game and a huge win against the huge, physical, talented Huskies. The thrilling run finally came to an end with a loss to North Carolina in front of 70,000-plus screaming fans in Ford Field and millions watching at home.

As a cruel reminder of the obstacles this team had to overcome all season, Korie Lucious’s foot injury in the final minutes, along with Chris Allen’s kicked and rolled foot in the first half, produced foot frac-tures. Their surgeries were the first obsta-cles in an exciting, essential off-season of individual development.

The journey is long. The obstacles are many. But at season’s end only four teams reach the ultimate stage in Division I college basket-ball. Preparation for the 2009-2010 season is

already in progress, despite Midnight Mad-ness being five months away.

Allen and Lucious should recover from foot surgery. Morgan and Tom Herzog should gain important weight. And the prognosis is excel-lent for a full recovery from many less significant injuries. It will take all that and more for MSU to make the necessary improvement to reach another Final Four next April in Indianapolis.

As the players work on their games, we will continue to work towards their optimum health and performance. Rest assured, these players and their coaches can overcome any obstacle. Whatever next season brings, the health of our team and the good fortune they create for themselves will once again determine the Spar-tans’ fate.

losses at home shook the Spartans’ confi-dence, but not their spirit. Others rose to the challenge and filled Morgan’s shoes, an opportunity that helped a few freshmen per-form through the tournament run.

Six weeks of additional calories, extra rest and a coaching staff willing to modify training allowed Morgan to return late in the season. His putback slam against Indi-ana was one of the season’s biggest baskets. And MSU needed the real Raymar to handle Connecticut in an NCAA semifinal.

Ah, March… let the madness begin! Aside from a serious ankle sprain for Isaiah Dahl-man in pre-game warm-ups, the team was finally back at full strength. What was once a marathon had now become a sprint to the Final Four.


SPORT SHOTS


Spartan Solidaritydurrell summers and Kalin Lucas

share a sideline moment with Tom Izzo.


It was a career-long dream-come-true.

Michigan State’s players, officials and fans were all over

the court, celebrating the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest

Region championship in Indianapolis. The second-seeded

Spartans had just surprised the college basketball world,

dominating overall top seed Louisville 64-52 to earn a

spot in the Final Four at Detroit’s Ford Field.

Bumpy Roads& Expressways

Spartans Took A Tricky Route To Reach Downtown DetroitBY ERNIE BOONE


One by one the Spartans climbed the ladder to cut down a piece of the net. Surrounded by reporters, Magic Johnson was clearly emotional as he spoke about MSU’s prepa-ration and execution. Marquise Gray hung his piece of the net from his championship baseball cap. And Earvin Johnson Sr. put his arm around my shoulder, leaned over and whispered: “No matter what we do next week, it doesn’t get any better than this!”

He was right. It seldom gets better than the moment when a team can clearly say, “Mission Accomplished.” For Tom Izzo and this bunch of Spartans, the Louisville vic-tory was that moment. They were back in the Final Four – for the first time in their home state, with a shot at MSU’s third national championship.

“It’s as big a win as our school has had because we’re going to Detroit,” Izzo said.

That had been the goal all season, especially for four players with one last chance. Much had been made about Travis Walton becoming the first Izzo recruit to complete his eligibil-ity without reaching a Final Four. yet, it was just as important to fifth-year seniors Goran Suton, Idong Ibok and Gray, practice players and spectators in 2005 in St. Louis.

“I went to a Final Four,” Suton said. “But I didn’t play one minute in that tournament. I want to make it as a real player.”

Izzo made that his No. 1 goal the moment the Ford Field site was selected. Detroit-area prep stars Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers dreamed of it as recruits. For the rest of the Spartans, the quest began the previous year when a stunned, embarrassed group sat together in Houston after being over-whelmed by Memphis, 92-74.

The two Drews, Neitzel and Naymick, soon said their goodbyes. But everyone else was back with a realization. If they could just approach their potential, a Final Four appearance would be possible. Getting to Detroit became the team’s mission. As play-ers began preparing the next week, it domi-nated their summer agenda.

Walton, already recognized as an emo-tional team leader and a dominant defensive player, was the best example of how each Spartan focused on a phase of his game that would make the team better. With a strong commitment to improving his shot, Walton worked every day to be able to replace some of Neitzel’s lost offensive output.

Before the season started, complications arose. Incoming freshman Delvon Roe was never close to peak efficiency after surgeries to both knees. And the bad luck continued from November to March. Suton was sidelined for six games, including the first one with North Carolina, with a knee injury. Then,

Raymar Morgan, the team’s top pre-confer-ence scorer, feel victim to walking pneumo-nia/mononucleosis and a broken nose.

The resulting lack of consistency had everyone concerned, especially Izzo. He always believed the team could be special, as shown in its win over Texas in Houston and its 8-1 success on the road in the Big Ten. But maddening inconsistency, seen in back-to-back home losses to Northwestern and Penn State, left plenty of doubt.

When MSU won eight of its last nine regular-season games and ruled the confer-ence by four full games, everything seemed to be coming together. Lucas was the Big Ten Player of the year and Izzo the league’s Coach of the year. Wal-ton was then Defensive Player of the year, Roe an All-Freshman honoree and Suton the rebound-ing champ.

Suddenly, on March 14 in Indianapolis, every-thing was questioned again. The Spartans stumbled in the semi-finals of the Big Ten Tournament, losing by 12 points to Ohio State. Even the most optimistic fans began knocking on wood, crossing their fin-gers and fingering their prayer beads.

That set the stage for one of the finest NCAA Tournament runs in MSU basketball history. The Spartans did it the Izzo way – as a team – for the next 21 days. They did it without a superstar who dominated play every night. Instead, each mem-ber of the playing group took turns doing the little things and making the big plays to advance.

Lucas drew most of the attention from oppo-nents. But Morgan, Walton and Suton were the leading scorers in MSU’s first four wins in Minneapolis and Indy. And Summers, Roe, Draymond Green, Korie Lucious, Chris Allen, Gray and Ibok made their presence felt on the way to Ford Field, as they had in hoisting a 2009 Big Ten Champions banner.

As a No. 2 seed, the Spartans opened against 15th-seeded Robert Morris from Pittsburgh. It was a Friday night frolic and a 15-point win, as five players scored in

double figures. Morgan and Green each had 16 points. But the big story was Suton’s 17 rebounds, the most by an MSU player in the post-season since Johnson had 17 against Lamar in 1979.

The rest of the NCAA Tournament couldn’t have offered a tougher lineup. Next up was Southern California, one of the best 10th seeds in history. That was clear when the Pac-10 Tournament titlist dismantled No. 7 seed Boston College by 17 in a first-round game at the Metrodome. The Trojans were as athletic as any team in the field, as seen when 6-9 Taj Gibson went 10-for-10 from the field inside and 6-7 wing DeMar DeRosan added 17 points against the Eagles.

In a game that worried Izzo more than any leading to the title game, the Spartans had to answer one question: Were they the team that ran away from the pack in the nation’s second-ranked conference or a group that would run and hide at the first sign of real adversity? Their answer spoke volumes to a lot of observers, if not to Digger Phelps.

Rallying with a 10-0 second-half run, MSU beat USC, 74-69. Walton had the game of his life with a career-high 18 points. The

Bumpy Roads & Expressways

Suton Shines Lansing Everett graduate Goran Suton was the Spar-

tans’ brightest star in NCAA Tournament play and was the Midwest

Region’s Most Outstanding Player.


Spartans also used a huge edge in depth, with Summers, Allen and Green outscor-ing the Trojans’ bench 26-16. Summers and Green also teamed for 17 rebounds, four more than their opponents’ starting five.

But it wasn’t just what MSU did. It was what the Spartans kept USC from doing. Led by Suton, the winners played amazing defense on Gibson, who finished with five points, zero rebounds and five fouls in 23 minutes. So much for the theory that Izzo’s team would crumble at the first sight of an effective post player.

It was on to Indy for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. There, MSU would meet Kan-sas and Louisville, programs with multiple NCAA crowns. And both had coaches with net-cutting experience in the Jayhawks’ Bill Self and the Cardinals’ Rick Pitino.

The Friday night matchup with third-seeded Kansas promised to be one of the year’s best battles. It didn’t disappoint. The defending national champ was still smart-ing from a 75-62 thumping on Jan. 10 in Breslin. With guard Sherron Collins and cen-ter Cole Aldrich, the Jayhawks soared to a 13-point lead in the first half. But the fun was just beginning.

Suton’s buzzer-beating jumper cut the halftime deficit to seven after several replays. And he kept producing in the sec-ond half, finishing with a season-high 20 points and a career-high five steals. But the game and the Spartans’ season wound up in Lucas’ hands after his fourth steal of the night. He had seven assists and just four baskets at that point. His next shot would change that impression forever.

With the score tied at 60 and less than a minute left, Lucas spread the floor and took Collins to the basket. A pump fake sent Col-lins into orbit. After drawing contact, Lucas

Chairmen Of The Boards MSU led the

nation in rebounding and showed why against

second-round opponent USC.

Marching In Step The whole was greater

than the sum of the parts in MSU’s post-season

drive to Ford Field.

hit the jumper, added a free throw, then sank four more foul shots to finish with 18 points and a 67-62 MSU triumph.

A 23-7 edge in bench scoring, led by Sum-mers’ clutch plays, made Lucas’ heroics pos-sible. In less than a minute, Summers tipped in a miss, hit one of two free throws and grabbed an offensive rebound. That carom led to Morgan’s dunk that tied the game. Without Summers’ nine points and five rebounds, the spring of 2009 wouldn’t be the same.

Even then, the Spartans were supposed to be little more than a speed bump in Louis-ville’s cruise to the Final Four. The Cardinals used an aggressive press and lived on oppo-nents’ turnovers, an MSU weakness in the season’s worst moments. Those easy points helped Pitino’s players average more than 80 points a game as the regular-season and tournament champs in the Big East.

To pull off the upset in front of a red-drenched horde at Lucas Oil Stadium, MSU had to avoid “turnovers for touchdowns,” play at a reasonable tempo, rebound with a vengeance and make shots at a respectable

rate. It did all those things and more with contributions from the entire playing group. Lucas and Walton easily broke the press, got MSU into its offense and controlled the pace. Unable to turn the Spartans over, Louisville couldn’t get its fast break going.

Suton was superb. He was 7-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-5 accuracy from 3-point range. The Midwest Region’s Most Outstand-ing Player scored 19 points, snatched 10 rebounds, dished four assists, had a steal and blocked a shot. In a team game with a game team, Suton had plenty of help.

Lucas had 10 points, five assists and a steal. Green grabbed 10 rebounds. And Walton was incredible on defense, holding All-Big East selection Terrence Williams to five points in MSU’s best performance of the season, a fine example of Izzo-ball.

The Spartans took care of the ball, com-mitting 12 turnovers. They executed with precision on offense, recording 19 assists on 24 field goals. They were 24-for-52 from the field and 8-for-16 from long range. They held the Cardinals to 38-percent accuracy and had a 37-29 edge on the boards, including 13 offensive rebounds in a hostile setting.

The result – Mission Accomplished. Earvin Sr. was right. It doesn’t get any better than that. Especially with Detroit less than 90 minutes away.


One was grinning from ear to ear. The other was about to shed a tear.

Izzo, Waltonlead The Way

Coach, Senior Guard Push Spartans To Be All They Can Be

BY JACK EBLING

Tom Izzo and Travis Walton felt the same euphoria after Michigan State stunned Lou-isville on Sunday, March 29, and exposed the Cardinals as Final Four phonies.

They just had different ways of showing their emotion after a Midwest Region Final statement. Izzo, whose tear ducts often work overtime, was overjoyed by a dream-come-true. Walton, one of the toughest players of the past decade, was overcome by the same accomplishment.

“I was so happy for Travis,” Izzo said with a wide smile in a post-game interview. “He didn’t want to be the first one to play four years here and not make it to the Final Four. His teammates all wanted that for him, too.”

No one wanted a trip to Detroit more than Izzo. And what the ironman from Iron Mountain wants, he usually gets. He just needs to make that known to his players, his school’s administration and a steadily expanding fan base.

And why shouldn’t his wishes come true? When it comes to MSU’s success, Izzo is totally invested – often beyond the bounds of reason. It’s hard for anyone, even his nearly extinct critics, to argue with some amazing results.

“I wanted Coach to be able to say, ‘If you come to Michigan State, you WILL play in a Final Four,’” Walton said. “I didn’t want him to have to say, ‘Except for one person.’ Now, he doesn’t have to do that.”

Izzo doesn’t have to do a lot of things. He does them anyway. He works more hours than many sets of twins. And he doesn’t know how to say no to requests for his fleet-ing time and personal attention.

When the Spartans need to impress a

recruit in any sport, it’s time to meet Izzo. When his university needs to raise money or morale, one of the first calls is to the Berkowitz Center. And when this commu-nity needs an assist, it always looks to a former Division II point guard.

None of that changes the awesome numbers Izzo’s program has produced. In the past 50 years, MSU has played in 21 NCAA Tournaments. In the last dozen, it’s 12-for-12.

If you don’t believe in Izzo-ball, you’ve spent significant time in solitary confine-ment. No other explanation exists, given the irrefutable stats:

A 336-137 overall record after succeeding Jud Heathcote, the school’s all-time win-ningest coach (340-220 in 19 seasons), and a 31-11 mark in NCAA play, fourth-best among active leaders.

A Big Ten-record-tying five regional titles in the last 11 years, the same number Bob Knight had in 29 tries at Indiana and five more than Gene Keady produced in a quarter-century at Purdue.

Amazing success off the court in develop-ing people, not just pros, with 32 play-ers receiving degrees since 2000 and with incalculable value in reinforcing the uni-versity’s mission.

So when Izzo tells the welcoming contin-gent at Breslin, “As long as you guys want me, I’ll be here. We still have things to aspire to, including a third national title for this school,” fans should adopt the pinch-and-


pray strategy. They should pinch themselves that the newest face on MSU’s Mount Rush-more is here and pray that he won’t change his mind.

Izzo didn’t invent the game. And when he leaves, which he will eventually, the Spar-tans could get another terrific basketball coach. But MSU will never get a better fit for the institution’s needs and the commu-nity’s demands.

Think of it this way. Imagine that a roll-over accident and resulting scandal had happened two years earlier and the Univer-sity of Michigan had hired Izzo instead of Brian Ellerbe to lead the Wolverines… you can put the pistol down now, Spartans. It didn’t happen.

Instead, Izzo’s team just beat the champs from three other major conferences, knocked off a pair of No. 1 seeds and put MSU in the national floodlights again. In the process, though he wasn’t aware of it at the time, he got the best of three coaches who had won NCAA titles – Bill Self, Rick Pitino and Jim Calhoun.

The fact that the Spartans have struggled of late against North Carolina means only two things: MSU has the same problem there that every other school seems to have. And Izzo has one more glorious quest to add to his list before he leaves campus.

For Walton, “The Impossible Dream” – or

so it appeared at several moments – was realized with a chance to play for a national championship. Unlike fifth-year seniors Goran Suton, Marquise Gray and Idong Ibok,

he wasn’t a redshirt in 2005 when the Spar-tans lost to, you guessed it, eventual champ North Carolina in St Louis.

Walton had one shot left to get there. And it wasn’t a layup. He had to become an exten-sion of his coach and lead his team on one of the longest 92-mile treks any team has had, given its injuries and inconsistencies.

To understand how that happened, you need to know the dynamics of the MSU basketball family. And The Waltons of the Blue Ridge Mountains – with a starting five of John-Boy, Jim Bob, Ben, Mary Ellen and Olivia – couldn’t have been closer at Tourna-ment time.

For that, the Spartans can thank No. 5. Walton didn’t always shoot the ball well, though that’s probably news to Maryland (8-for-10) and USC (8-for-13). But he almost always competed. That should be his MSU legacy.

The defender of the “S” logo in the cen-ter of the nation’s best locker room worked

triple-overtime to become the Big Ten Defen-sive Player of the year. Seldom has a confer-ence award had more significance. When the outcome mattered, Walton’s credentials were

stronger than his 700-pound leg press.He held Texas gunner A.J. Abrams to eight

points and 0-for-4 long-range shooting. That was 12.9 points below Abrams’ average and ended a streak of 16 games with at least one 3-point basket. The final score in Houston: Spartans 67, Longhorns 63.

Walton put the vice clamps on Dem-etri McCamey, stole the ball three times and watched that misery spread through the Illinois backcourt in a 1-for-17 group shooting performance. Somewhere, Eric Snow was smiling. Final score: MSU 63, Fighting Illini 57.

Giving up three inches in height, Walton smothered Michigan’s Manny Harris in Crisler Arena and held him to seven points on 2-for-10 shooting, including 1-for-6 work beyond the arc. No rematch was required or requested. Final: Spartans 54, Wolverines 42.

Facing Louisville’s Terrence Williams, who was being touted for the Naismith Hall of Fame at the time, Walton imposed his will

Izzo, Walton Lead The Way

Always In The Lead Senior Captain Travis

Walton brings the Spartans together.

“It was great to see the seniors go out the way they did,” Izzo said. ”They had a lot of pressure to get here. I thought they handled it extremely well.”


from start to finish. Williams wound up with five points on 1-for-7 shooting and a seat on the bench. Score: MSU 64, Cardinals 52.

And in the game he had always dreamed of playing, Walton had a season-high eight assists and zero turnovers against Connecti-cut. He also held trigger-happy guard A.J. Price to 5-for-20 accuracy from the field. Scoreboard: Spartans 82, Huskies 73.

For 37 games, Walton was a walking virus for MSU opponents. They couldn’t stay away from him. And no successful vaccine had been developed.

The 38th game was an anomaly. But after the Tar Heels had done their damage, scor-ing more points in the first half than eight teams had in two halves over the previous 60 days, Walton did what he had always done. He stepped up and took the charge.

“you always want to win,” Walton said. “But one team is going to win, and one team is going to lose. It was great just to get here. Nobody thought we’d be in this position. Now, you’re talking about playing for a national championship. So no one is going to drop his head.”

Walton wouldn’t allow that to happen.

And no one had a reason to do it. Izzo’s final embrace showed why. They had been through 143 battles together and had won 103 of them, beating two No 1-ranked teams and going fur-ther in the NCAA Tournament each year.

“It was great to see the seniors go out the way they did,” Izzo said. “They had a lot of pressure to get here. I thought they handled it extremely well. They looked like they ran out of gas a little bit – and deservedly so. As I told them in the locker room, we lost a game, but this program is way better off to have had them here.”

Izzo had a hard time accepting the loss immediately after the game. But the Tar Heels were just better – that night and almost every one this season. If the Spartans didn’t have to play a perfect game to win, they had to approach it. And that has always been Izzo’s No. 1 opponent. Perfection.

Perhaps that’s another reason why Izzo Goes to Broadway was so great. Stepping outside the box faster than someone who had been trapped in a casket, MSU’s top ambas-sador embraced an opportunity to step on a different stage and help Coaches vs. Cancer.

The show created another wave of positive

vibes and delighted almost everyone who saw it. Izzo did everything but bungee jump onto the stage. And he had already done that in Breslin.

As expected, Izzo deflected the credit to two friends who suggested the concept, Jim Epolito and the late Kevin Kelly, and to one mutual admirer, show mastermind Greg Gana-kas. He also developed a new appreciation for the teamwork others see in his teams.

“After everything we’ve done with Mid-night Madness, I thought, ‘How could I make a bigger fool of myself?’” Izzo said. “I thought I did a good enough job of that in the championship game.”

If he really believed that, he missed another free throw. There was no disgrace in blowing away the Big Ten, winning five games in the NCAA Tournament – four many than many predicted – or trying to capture the shiniest moment.

Walton and Izzo nearly accomplished that. Instead, they achieved so many other goals along the way. And faced with a bad final memory, they’ll do what the Spartans do better than anyone: Rebound.

That’s what championship leaders are for.


SPORT SHOTS


A Dream Is RealizedTom Izzo surveys the scene at Ford Field

and savors an incredible moment.


They were the second-best college basketball team in the nation in 2009 – or if you prefer, the champions of the NCAA.

That would be the Non-Carolina Athletic Association.

Basketball Brings Spartans, Non-Spartans TogetherBY JACK EBLING

Growing“That’s pretty good,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of the Spartans’ new title. “The prob-lem is that the Carolina Athletic Association was really good, too.”

Too good for Michigan State or any team in the Tar Heels’ path.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Ford Field. The State of Michigan became greener than it has ever been on Earth Day.

From Traverse City to Trenton, fans celebrated their new favorite team. And Downtown Detroit became a satellite campus.

“We were the blue-collar team,” Izzo said of color-blind allegiance. “We were what the city and the state embodies. We’ve all had some ups and downs. But we were proof that dreams come true, especially if people bond together. We saw what happened with the ’68 Tigers. Maybe that’s what we did, too.”

As you might expect, Mid-Michigan was awash in Spartan spirit. A love affair with Izzo and his team never felt more passionate.

From the welcome after a Big Ten title-clinch-ing win at Indiana to the reception after upset-ting top-seeded Louisville in Indy to the back-to-Breslin rally the morning after the championship game, Greater Lansing was always there.

Tens of thousands of MSU fans from the area made the trip to Detroit. And maybe the sense of discovery went both ways.

The first indication was a record crowd of close to 30,000 for a Final Four shoot-around. The sign in the stadium that Friday afternoon said “Michigan St. 92 mi.” It seemed like about a mile-and-a-half.

When that 50-minute session ended, Izzo called his team together and told it to spread out and thank the fans. As the players waved and bonded, CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz said he had never seen anything like it in his 24 Final Fours.

Later that day, after another workout, it was time for the official pep rally in Troy. The Spartans stayed at the Somerset Inn and kept getting mes-sages about the crowd at Somerset Mall.

“They kept calling over and telling us how many were there,” Izzo said. “Normally, I do those things by myself. But I said to the team, ‘I’m taking you with me.’ The owner met us in back and said he’d never seen half that many people in the entire mall. We had twice that number in one hallway.”

For a coach who always wears his emotions on his sleeve, the response of roughly 10,000 fans moved him to tears.

“How could it not?” Izzo said. “I was blown away. We all were. It’s hard to get all the falderal of the Final Four when you’re playing in it. you’re just so busy. But that was something I’ll never forget.”

The memories of the weekend were just begin-ning. A record crowd of 72,456 on Semifinal Saturday saw MSU beat top-seeded Connecticut, 82-73… So much for the walk-it-up Big Ten.

“The setting was unbelievable,” Izzo said. “If you’re a Michigan State fan or friend or alum, you would’ve been proud of more than the team. you’d have been happy with every representative of the school.”

“Team MSU,” as President Lou Anna Simon likes to call it, was out in full force, just as it was when Suzy Merchant’s women’s team shocked top-

Green And


seeded Duke, led by the departed Joanne P. McCallie, to reach the Sweet 16.

It was a great month to be green. And you had to wonder what would have happened without an estimated 50,000 Spartans in the stands on Saturday and close to 60,000 on Monday night.

Their presence wasn’t just felt in the stands. Green-and-white was everywhere, including many cash reg-isters. Cheers broke out in several establishments at 3 a.m. And street musicians got tips for jazz renditions of the “MSU Fight Song.”

“Somebody said we saved the Final Four,” Izzo said. “Even one of the talking heads said there were only three or four other schools in the country that could’ve done that. We had 145,378 people there. I’m not sure that’ll ever be duplicated.”

A two-day-old attendance record was broken for the championship game. That crowd of 72,922 included a who’s-who of former players and supporters from other continents.

“My favorite thing is when the players come back,” Izzo said. “And they were unbe-lievable. Charlie Bell had practice Monday morning in Milwaukee, then drove all the way to Detroit because he couldn’t get a flight. When I got up that morning, Steve Smith and Kevin Willis walked into the film room. And Lou Anna was there the whole time.”

Simon was also there high-fiving – not that high, if you want to be technical – after MSU stunned the Huskies. So was Magic Johnson, who posed for pictures with sev-eral groups of policemen.

Detroit’s finest couldn’t get enough of the Spartans. One of the weekend’s funni-est scenes came after the win over UConn, when four officers kept celebrating in the tunnel. Suddenly, they saw two NCAA offi-cials and stopped for 10 seconds – until their impromptu party could resume.

“Our state police, some guys we had with us and the officers from Detroit were great,” Izzo said. “It was one of those mag-ical weekends in every way, shape and form – except that I needed Magic and Larry Bird to play for us.”

The Spartans had been beaten by 35 points when they faced the Tar Heels on Dec. 3. They didn’t have Goran Suton that night. And Izzo suggested that they might have only lost by 20 if everyone had been

healthy. With Suton scoring 17 points, MSU lost by 17 in the rematch.

“We might’ve hit a home run in every way except how we played in the championship game,” Izzo said. “With 4:25 to go, we’d cut it to 13 and had a close call on a block-

charge go against us. But with two minutes left, we were down 15. And I said to the staff, ‘Look at that! No one’s leaving.’”

That heartwarming show of support didn’t escape the players. When the Spartans were asked what they took from the weekend, almost every player mentioned the fans.

“I thought they did a great job of support-ing us, giving us energy and motivating us,” captain Travis Walton said. “They helped us get to Detroit. And when the game was over, they were still cheering. you have to take your hat off to them. They did a incredible job of sticking with us and not giving up.”

That was never clearer than the following morning. Back in Breslin more than 1,000 fans waited patiently to welcome the run-ners-up. Some missed work. Some skipped classes. But they had to be there to say “Thank you!” one more time.

“I’m basically here to salute the 2009 team and Goran Suton, one of my personal favorites,” Jerry Pecora said of a fellow Lan-singite. “I think Tom and his staff deserve a lot of credit. Ultimately, the credit belongs to the player, though. He’s going to go down as one of the least appreciated and most impressive big men this school has seen.”

It was no big news when the bus was late getting back. Appropriately, no one left. And when the team walked in and Izzo took the mic, the cheers rang out for a full three minutes.

Green and Growing

“Our goal is to make sure all our under-classmen have a great spring and summer,” Izzo said. “Roy Williams of North Carolina called me this morning and said something really interesting. He said the guys who came back and could’ve left didn’t just want

to win a championship. Their goal was to get better. They had a great spring and sum-mer. And that’s what we’re going to try to do.

“But feel good about your university today. And thank you sooo much for coming out and being here. We appreciate it more than you know.”

The feeling was mutual, as two young fans confirmed.

“I want to see Travis,” 10-year-old Julia Angst said. “I like the way he plays defense. And he’s a real good captain.”

Not everyone had the cash or connections to get to Ford Field. But everyone in Breslin that morning felt connected with a program –

their program.The best example of that may have been

the way 6-year-old Ben Staszewski held up his sign “Good job Spartans,” with help from his 3-year-old sister, Nora.

“I like Kalin Lucas and (Durrell) Summers,” he said. “I like doing layups just like them. I’m practicing the ones Kalin does, backwards over his head. I think he’s good at reverse layups because he has a reversible head.”

Maybe that’s the secret. On a day with more reasons to sulk than to smile, his last comment had Izzo laughing.

“A reversible head?’ he said. “That’s pretty good for a 6-year-old… If you tell me he’s 6-8 right now, I’ll really be fired up!”

While the players returned to classes and tried to catch up after a hectic month of travel, Izzo put himself on display twice more. He threw out a ceremonial pitch – a change-up, high and inside – before the yankees-Tigers game on April 27, then starred in Izzo Goes to Broadway on May 7 in Wharton Center.

The event raised more than $100,000 for the American Cancer Society and Coaches vs. Cancer. And if Izzo won’t be offered a recording contract, he may have set a record for community involvement.

One month after he was welcomed back to Breslin, Izzo and his family drew a standing ovation in Wharton. His basketball family had gotten that same reaction all along.

Spartan City MSU’s Friday shoot-around set NCAA attendance records.


Kalin lucas sat silently for most of the 90-minute bus ride back to East Lansing after Michigan State’s humbling 35-point loss to North Carolina last December.

He shut off his iPod, ignored the 30-some text messages piling up on his cell phone and set his mind to one thing: Earning a rematch.

Michigan State fared little better in its second go-round with the supremely talented Tar Heels, los-ing 89-72, in the national champi-onship game. The fact they made it there at all is a testament to Lucas’ otherworldly play.

The Orchard Lake St. Mary’s High product became the first Spartan to earn Big Ten Player of the year honors since Morris Peter-son shared the award with Indiana’s A.J. Guyton in 2000, and the first sophomore MVP since the Hoosiers’ Jared Jeffries in 2002.

Four other Spartans picked up well-de-served hardware for their mantles. Tom Izzo was named Big Ten Coach of the year after leading MSU to its first conference champi-onship since 2001 (by four games, no less). Travis Walton was the league’s Defensive Player of the year, edging fellow hound dogs Chris Kramer and Chester Frazier. Del-von Roe returned from two knee surgeries to make the all-freshman team. And Goran Suton, Most Outstanding Player of the Mid-west Regional, was a second-team all-league selection and the first Spartan to lead the Big Ten in rebounding since Antonio Smith 12 years ago.

Still, it was Lucas who proved to be the heart and playmaking soul of a team left for dead by many at the height of the holi-day season.

“Even in a great year, you usually don’t get that many people win major awards. That speaks volumes,” Izzo said. “(Lucas has) done a lot for us, and yet (Ohio State wing Evan) Turner’s a great player. Usually, an MVP of a league leads a team somewhere, so that’s where we always preach winning. Team goals usually help garner individual goals, not the other way around. This just proves our point even more.”

Lucas led Michigan State in scoring (14.7 ppg) and assists (4.6 apg), was reliable from the foul line (80.8 percent) and surprisingly ranked as the Spartans’ best 3-point shooter

lucas learns, leads ChampsPoint Guard Sparkles As League MVP, But Is Far From DoneBY DAVID BIRKETT

among backcourt players at 39 percent. Dur-rell Summers made 38.5 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, while Chris Allen shot just 31.1 percent.

In every category, Lucas improved from a wonderful freshman season, when he bumped Drew Neitzel off the point and pro-pelled the Spartans to the Sweet 16.

“Lucas is one of the best players in Amer-ica,” Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. “Seeing him in person, he’s terrific. Abso-lutely terrific.”

Lucas was the only Spartan to score in double figures in all six NCAA tournament games. He matched Kansas’ Sherron Collins in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis, scoring 18 points to go with seven assists and four steals. He outdueled UConn’s A.J. Price in the Final Four, dropping a game-high 21 points and five assists. And in the title match, he had 14 points and seven assists in 35 gutty minutes against North Carolina’s Ty Lawson.

But Walton said Lucas’ breakout came a season-and-a-half earlier, in an innocu-ous December game at Bradley most people couldn’t even find on their TV.

Coming off the bench then, Lucas scored

“…he has grown leaps and bounds from where he was. He still has some growing to do, but I think he’s made some big strides.”

- Tom Izzo Spartan Head Coach


seven of his 13 points in the final 3:36 to help MSU stave off an upset in a hostile arena. Lucas, 0-for-7 in career 3-point tries to that point, buried a floating jumper and 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to

give the Spartans a victory. His two free throws with seven seconds left sealed a 66-61 win.

Two weeks later against Texas, Lucas erupted for a career-high 18 points and six assists to lead MSU’s upset of D.J. Augustin and fourth-ranked Texas at The Palace. With a few dozen family members and friends in attendance, he played a near flawless floor game, penetrating at will and committing just one turnover.

“I think one game he took 15 shots and didn’t shoot the ball that well,” Walton said. “But when you’re a freshman and take 15 shots, you know Coach has got to have a lot

Lucas Learns, Leads Champs

of confidence in you. I think that was the defining moment that said, ‘Wow, he can be a big-time player for us.’ He wasn’t starting at that time. But as time went on, he was making big plays.”

This year, Lucas continued to come up clutch at opportune times.

With MSU reeling after an early-season loss to Maryland, Lucas had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 assists to spark a rout against Oklahoma State. In January, days after a shocking home defeat to Northwestern, he scored 20 second-half points in a road win at Ohio State. And on the road at Illinois, Lucas scored 18 points to break open a tie game and help the Spar-tans clinch a share of the Big Ten title.

“I call him a poor man’s Chris Paul,” Izzo said, comparing Lucas’ breakneck speed and smallish stature to that of the New Orleans

Number 1 Kalin Lucas was the Big Ten’s Most

Outstanding Player as a sophomore, matching

the feat of Magic Johnson and Mateen Cleaves.

“I call him a poor man’s Chris Paul,” Izzo said. “Don’t take that wrong. I think the world of Chris Paul, but he has a demeanor like that…”


Hornets point guard. “Don’t take that wrong. I think the world of Chris Paul, but he has a demeanor like that… I think he has a chance to be one of the great point guards.”

Izzo said Lucas has two things to master before he falls into that category. First, he must expand his deadly mid-range game to be just as lethal from long distance. Second, Lucas needs to get stron-ger to better survive the physical pounding he takes.

“If you look at the best of the best, other than Collison from UCLA, most of those point guards have big-time strength, like Mateen Cleaves had or the kid from Syracuse (Jonny Flynn) or Law-son or Collins,” Izzo said.

Already, Lucas resembles Cleaves, Collins and Lawson in one way. All have an insatiable appetite for winning.

Cleaves played in two Final Fours and won one national title at MSU. Collins was indispensable during Kansas’ championship run two years ago. And Lawson stayed in school this past season to vie for the crown he eventually won.

In two postseasons, Lucas, who declined to test the NBA waters this spring, has shown a knack for playing his best on the biggest stages.

Against the defending national champion Jayhawks in the Sweet 16, Lucas shook off a so-so first half to score the game’s biggest bas-ket, a pump-fake floater with 48 seconds left that gave the Spartans a two-point lead. He started the play on the defensive end with a steal, drew contact from Collins on the shot, and added a free throw – then hit four more in the final 26 seconds – to seal the win.

A week later against UConn, Lucas was the best player on the floor for much of the night. He made 3-of-6 3-pointers and forced the tempo with jet-fueled fast breaks that nullified 7-foot-3 Huskies center Hasheem Thabeet’s shot-blocking prowess inside.

“I think he realized that winning is more beneficial, more enjoy-able, more invigorating, more everything than all those other things,” Izzo said. “I have a better appreciation for him. In the huddles, on the sidelines, he has grown leaps and bounds from where he was. He still has some growing to do, but I think he’s made some big strides.”

For MSU to get where many expect next season – back to the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy – Lucas will need to continue along that path.

The Spartans graduate starters Walton and Suton, but return seven of their top nine players. They have enough depth and firepower that one Sports Illustrated writer declared them the preseason No. 1 team.

Summers should replace Walton in the starting lineup, and looks ready to blossom after two double-digit scoring outbursts in the Final Four. Freshmen Roe, Draymond Green and Korie Lucious will play more significant minutes after brilliant flashes in the tourna-ment. Raymar Morgan, when he’s healthy, is a match-up problem for opponents. And, as he always does, Izzo will have a rotation of big men to mix and match down low.

But as was the case this year, MSU’s fortunes will rise and fall with Lucas’ play. Izzo said he wants his point guard to become more of a leader next season, especially with the demanding Walton no longer in the locker room. After watching Lucas’ gritty performance in the tournament, he has no doubt it will happen.

“He showed me a lot of character,” Izzo said. “He really grew up. He didn’t complain. He didn’t blame. He handled it like a real, real good player should handle it. I was proud of him for that because that means he’s taken a big step in the right direction.”

SPORT SHOTS


Sophomore SaluteChris allen and Kalin Lucas

celebrate msu’s win over Kansas.


One setback can’t tarnish a season.

Despite Michigan State’s loss in the national championship game, there

were plenty of shining moments and lasting memories in 2008-09.

There were games that the Spartans weren’t supposed to win… Just don’t

tell them that. There were wins that built character and showed glimpses

of MSU’s potential. Then, there were triumphs that will be treasured forever

– times when an entire state, in the midst of economic hardship, rallied

around its home team.

These 10 moments shone brighter than all the rest:

The 2008-09 Spartans Left Indelible MemoriesBY PAVEL KOFMAN

Ten Shining Moments


21The louisville Shocker

The emotion pouring out of senior guard Travis Walton said it all after MSU beat Louisville to make its Final Four dream a reality.

“It’s as big a win as our school has ever had,” five-time Final Four coach Tom Izzo said. “We’re going to Detroit, and that’s been our dream and a goal of ours since they announced where the Final Four was in 2009.”

Few gave the Spartans a chance in this Midwest Regional championship game against the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. Many in East Lansing thought a magical run would wind up one game short of Detroit.

That only made the win more incredible.Louisville had danced and strutted to

the Elite Eight and had great confidence – not to mention a red-drenched crowd in Indianapolis.

While much of the talk was about Louisville’s high-powered attack, little was made about the MSU defense. But many would quickly learn just how good the Spartans were.

Cardinals guard Terrence Williams was arguably Louisville’s best player, especially in the tournament. When Walton was done with him, Williams went scoreless in the

first half and finished with just one field goal and five points.

Walton had reached his first Final Four. His play was a big reason why.

“One thing coach does is stick to his promises. He said, ‘you get me through Fri-day, and I’ll do my best to get you through Sunday,’” said Walton. “I was thanking God for blessing me to be around a man like that, who is going to give me everything and give our team everything he can give.”

UConn Rocked In DetroitWelcome to Detroit, Stanley Robinson. The biggest on-court highlight in the Final Four was Durrell Summers dunking in Robinson’s grill. The Connecticut forward even got a piece of it. yet, Summers slammed it home with authority.

Raymar Morgan saved his best for the big stage, breaking out of a late-season slump to score 18 points after donning a Rip Ham-ilton-esque mask.

The best part was when the final buzzer sounded, and a record Final Four crowd – including an estimated 50,000 Spartans – showed their euphoria.

“It’s hard to explain the emotion of the

day,” Izzo said. “I should have some experi-ence with this. But I didn’t have any experi-ence with 70-some thousand people, a lot of them pulling for us.”

The win meant that MSU could shine in the Final Four spotlight for another few days and its fans could indulge in the moment for a little longer.

“From the moment we were on that court and we won that game, people didn’t think about what they were going through out-side,” Walton said. “They were just happy that we won and that they could continue to cheer for us on Monday.”

To say that Jim Calhoun’s Huskies were big is an understatement. Hasheem Thabeet, all 7-foot-3 of him, led one of the top shot-blocking defenses in the country.

Connecticut’s big bodies couldn’t keep up with MSU’s transition game. The Huskies were bent over before halftime, catching their breath, as the Spartans wore them down.

MSU rotated 11 players in the game, while UConn used just one player regu-larly off the bench. All five UConn starters played more than 30 minutes, compared to just two Spartans.

A strong second half made the differ-ence. Suddenly, a national title was one game away.


4

5

6

7

8

3Ten Shining Moments

An Emotional Senior DayThe Big Ten championship, the emotion, the family. This game made you absolutely proud to be a Spartan.

An entire season of emotion was poured into one game: Senior Day for Goran Suton, Walton, Idong Ibok and Marquise Gray, the dedication of the Frances Cleaves Family Cen-ter, with a floor-to-ceiling mural in the lobby outside the Spartan locker room, and the raising of the Big Ten championship banner.

With festivities taking place after the game, the Spartans knew they had to beat Purdue – for themselves, for the seniors playing their final game at Breslin Center, and for the late Fran Cleaves, Mateen’s mom and one of the most influential people in the Spartan family.

“I always tell our players Senior Day is a memory-maker, and this was an incredible memory-maker,” Izzo said.

Choosing to have Senior Day and banner-raising ceremonies after the game instead of in pregame was risky. It would have been a somber scene if the team had been swept by the Boilermakers.

Instead, everything worked in the Spar-tans’ favor. And the entire Breslin Center

crowd stuck around afterwards to take in the festivities.

“I think that’s just about as awesome of a setting as I’ve ever been a part of,” Izzo said. “I can’t tell you how appreciative I am that everybody stayed. The players deserved that. I’m thrilled to maybe start a new tradi-tion here. “

Troy Turns Into East lansingyou couldn’t help but get chills at Somerset Mall in Troy on the eve of the Final Four, as close to 10,000 Green and White fans packed the mall as if it were the Breslin Center.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we would be able to put on a show like this for all of you,” Izzo said in his speech to the crowd. “you made this the proudest day of my life, no matter what happens tomorrow.”

final four Open PracticeIt was just a 50-minute practice for MSU, but the Spartan fans showed up to Ford Field for the free open practice as if they were hoping a game would break out.

Close to 30,000 fans were at Ford Field around noon on Friday, the day before the Final Four, as the Spartans were the first team to hit the court.

At every open practice in the NCAA tour-nament, MSU players give the crowd a slam dunk show at the end, and the Final Four was no different. Chris Allen bounced a ball off the floor, had it hit the backboard, then slammed it down with one hand. Summers also used the backboard, slamming a double-pump directly off the backboard.

Kalin Puts Away KansasKalin Lucas drove to the basket, guarded by Sherron Collins. The game was tied at 60 with a minute remaining.

Lucas went left. Collins was on him. Then, Lucas got the Jayhawk to bite on a pump fake. By the time Collins hit the floor. Lucas hit a shot and drew a foul.

“The shot clock was going down,” Lucas said. “The thing Coach wanted to do was just spread the floor. That’s all I tried to do. I tried to create. I just got lucky. I got him with the bump, and I scored.”

Lucas broke the tie and won the game, sending the defending national champions home after they led by 13 in the first half.

“When (Lucas) plays against another big time guard like Sherron Collins, he wants to prove himself to the nation,” Walton said. “Today, he wanted the ball in his hands. He’s just a big-time player. He’s growing.”

Raymar’s Jam Seals The TitleMorgan’s one-handed putback slam at Indi-ana put the exclamation point on the Spar-tans’ first outright Big Ten title since 1999. It came against Izzo’s chief assistant that year, his close friend Tom Crean.

The Hoosiers didn’t go down without a fight. But MSU prevailed in a sloppy game when it lost a 13-point lead.

Despite clinching the title, the team was in agreement to hold off on the Big Ten tro-phy presentation until it could do it at home in front of its fans.

1979 nCAA Champions ReunionMagic Johnson was in the house, as were Jud Heathcote and the vast majority of the 1979 National Champions. But as the old-timers were honored at halftime, the current team had a battle on its hands with Bo Ryan

Returning The Love Travis Walton (5), Korie

Lucious and teammates thank 30,000 Spartan fans

at the Friday Final Four shoot-around.


10and the Wisconsin Badgers, who led by six at half.

With MSU basketball royalty watching, the Spartans responded in the second half, outscoring Wisconsin 36-19 and getting a victory in front of their special guests.

“My mentor was here, and we looked like a dysfunctional group, so that bothered me,” Izzo said. “And we had Magic right behind me with all his stardom. So, yeah, that was pressure.”

MSU Spoils Illini Senior DayIn a rollercoaster season, it was seldom-used Idong Ibok who may have made one of the timeliest contribution to a Big Ten title.

The Spartans were having trouble stop-ping 7-0 Illinois center Mike Tisdale, who single-handedly chipped away at an 11-point, second-half deficit.

So Izzo sent the 6-11 Ibok in to defend Tisdale and stop the bleeding. Ibok did just that. Tisdale faded down the stretch, and MSU left with a 74-66 triumph.

“It was a panic decision,” Izzo said. “When we couldn’t handle Tisdale, Ibok did a great job and stepped up for us.”

The Orange Crush at Assembly Hall was hostile, but the Spartans were determined to leave with a share of the Big Ten title.

Summers’ 3 Sinks TexasIt was a signature win for the Spar-tans against then-fifth-ranked Texas in Houston.

MSU and the Longhorns battled back and forth until the closing seconds. Suddenly, Summers hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to continue the Spartans’ recent series dominance.

Izzo had told Summers before the game that he was disappointed with recent practices. Summers responded

on the court.“I’ve always questioned his toughness

a little bit,” Izzo said. “This kid reached down. He gave everything he had. Today, he grew up a little bit.”

All Hands On Deck Late-game

hero Kalin Lucas needed help from

Draymond Green (23) and others to

beat defending champion Kansas.

It almost sounds ridiculous with the loss of two three-year starters and their top three centers.

But so did the idea that the Michigan State Spartans would reach five Final Fours in 11 seasons.

The Season Ends,Success Does not

Spartans Could Be Back In Final Four Next Year In IndyBY JACK EBLING

So when people pick Tom Izzo’s program to make it six semifinals in 12 years next April, they have recent history squarely behind them. They also have major talent on their side, including the reigning Big Ten Player of the year and seven of the team’s top nine scorers in post-season play.

“I think we have a chance to get back there,” Izzo said a month after the final mad-dening turnover against North Carolina. “Of the guys we played a lot at the end of season, two were seniors and one was a junior. The rest were freshmen and sophomores.”

The most important returnee is Izzo. Despite reports that he felt unappreciated and rumors that he would leave for Arizona or Kentucky, guess who will be back for his 15th season as the Spartans’ head coach? yep, “Mr. Broadway” himself.

As long as Izzo has an office at the south-east corner of the Berkowitz Center, MSU should be a force in college basketball. He may not win every conference champion-ship. But no one will compete any harder or contend more often.

With assistants Mark Montgomery, Dwayne Stephens and Mike Garland all back, continu-ity won’t be a problem. Recruiting shouldn’t be that difficult, either, given one of the nation’s best facilities, the program’s repu-tation and a promise only Izzo can make, “Come to East Lansing, earn your degree, and you’ll play in a Final Four.”

We’ll get back to recruiting later. First, let’s look at the players Izzo has signed to scholarships since 2006 – two seniors-to be, four juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen, not counting walk-ons who had opportunities elsewhere.

With few exceptions, the Spartans have been a guard-dominated program for nearly 40 years. Since Mike Robinson’s enrollment in 1970, MSU has had 33 first-team All-Big Ten selections. Twenty-two of those honors have gone to guards.

Thus, it should be a comfort that Kalin Lucas said no when Izzo suggested he look at his NBA options. The Spartans’ first conference Player of the year since 2000 was a blur on the break and a game-breaker from outside.

Fresh Faces Korie Lucious (34), Draymond

Green (23) and Delvon Roe (10) begin their

careers with a Final Four triumph over UConn.


Without No. 1 at the point, MSU would never have been No. 1 in Big Ten scoring.

Lucas, a 6-foot junior-to-be, was steady and often spectacular, scoring in double figures in 28 of his last 29 games. He aver-aged 18 points in conference road games. And his poise against Kansas shouldn’t have shocked anyone.

Back for his senior year will be 6-8 forward Raymar Mor-gan, who has plenty to prove to opponents and pro scouts. Before being sidelined and slowed by pneumonia/mono-nucleosis, Morgan looked like an All-American. He led his team in scoring in five of its first nine games, producing 29 points against Oklahoma State, 26 against The Citadel and 21 against North Carolina.

With 1,190 points in three seasons. Morgan could crack the top eight scorers in school history if he returns to form and stays in the lineup. We saw what the real Raymar could do when he had 18 points, nine rebounds and five steals vs. Connecticut.

Durrell Summers and Chris Allen will have great oppor-tunities to start as juniors. Each scored 8.5 points per game. And if one of them emerges at shooting guard, the Spartans should be a solid contender. If both make significant progress, make room for another banner at Breslin.

The 6-4 Summers showed flashes of bril-liance with 26 points at Ohio State and 21 against Iowa and Minnesota. He has always been a freakish athlete with NBA range and hops. And his soaring slam over the Huskies was arguably MSU’s Play of the year.

Allen’s season went the opposite way,

ending with a fractured foot against the Tar Heels. The 6-3 Georgian opened the season with 21 points but had just 22 in the final five games. He was 1-for-15 from 3-point range after he reached the Sweet 16.

“Allen and Summers can play better than they have,” Izzo said. “And we need them both to do that. If they don’t, they won’t be playing. But I think they will. Their off-season is everything.”

Allen and backup point guard Korie

Lucious will be idled until their feet heal from surgery. Power forward and possible center Delvon Roe should be much better, too, when his surgically repaired knees have time to heal.

“Delvon was playing on half a leg,” Izzo said of a member of the league’s All-Fresh-

man team. “When he’s healthy and gets to work on his game a little bit, he’ll be as good as anyone we’ve had here. I really like what he gives us.”

The 6-8 Roe had almost as many rebounds as points but shot better than 56 percent from the field. Unfortunately, he hit less than 46 percent at the foul line and needs to improve significantly to stay in the game at winning time.

With Roe’s minutes monitored closely, another freshman had a great opportunity. And 6-6 Draymond Green responded better

than anyone expected. Projected as a pos-sible redshirt on Signing Day, the two-time state champion was a winner in every way, scoring 16 points in 17 minutes against Rob-ert Morris, then grabbing 10 boards against Louisville three wins later.

If Green looked more like a future captain each day, Lucious showed rare explosiveness for a 5-11 freshmen. He had 12 points in 15 minutes against Iowa, 16 points in 18 minutes against Ohio State in the Big Ten

Tournament and 11 points in nine minutes vs. UConn.

Lucious needs a big off-season as much as anyone to reach his potential. The talent is there. Unfortunately, so were 40 turn-overs. If that problem disappears, he can be a major asset on a championship team.

If not, more minutes will be available for 6-5 sophomore-to-be Austin Thornton or 6-6 senior Isaiah Dahlman.

But Lucious, the shortest player on the MSU roster, isn’t the key to next year’s success. Chances are, the tallest player will be. Fourth-year junior Tom Herzog, a 7-0 center who needs to gain weight and strength, is the only returning center on the roster. He played 32 min-utes this season and scored three baskets.

If the Spartans can get 15 minutes a game from Herzog and 15 from Roe or Green in the post, that still leaves 10 minutes for a freshman. Derrick Nix, Michigan’s Mr. Basketball, is a 6-9 low-post player with some skills. But he needs to give Herzog half his calories. Another 6-10 pros-

pect, Garrick Sherman of Ohio, could slide in and fill the void.

Actually, there could be two craters with the departure of Travis Walton, the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the year, and Goran Suton, the conference’s leading rebounder, plus fifth-year backups Marquise Gray and Idong Ibok.

No one on the roster has Walton’s ability to stop a big scorer. More important could be his ability to lead. And Suton was under-rated until his work was done. The Midwest Region’s Most Outstanding Player outplayed

Tyler Hansbrough, too.The trick for MSU’s returnees is to be as

committed as North Carolina’s veterans were. The Tar Heels returned intact and finished a job they abandoned in a 2008 semifinal against Kansas.

“I told Hanbrough it was really nice to see a bunch of guys stay in school and put win-ning above everything else,” Izzo said after an 89-72 loss. “We had a cause, but they had a cause, too. The biggest difference was that

The Season Ends, Success Does Not

Coach On The Court Kalin Lucas gets a message from Tom Izzo in MSU’s

Midwest Region upset of top-ranked Lousiville.

“…each and every year we expect to get here,” Izzo said. “Let’s hope next year is somewhat comparable. That’s what great programs do.”


they had juniors and seniors that we played against two years earlier.”

The Spartans’ lone junior on the floor at Ford Field had a bashed nose and a bruised ego in the wee hours of April 7. But he saw enough in his teammates to make him want to try again.

“We kept fighting,” Morgan said after MSU won the second half, 38-34. “I’m really proud of my team.”

Two teammates had similar thoughts. And that might say more about the season ahead than the one just behind.

“The biggest thing we’re proud of is being so inexperienced and making it this far,” Sum-mers said. “We learned that you’ve got to bring it early. The five minutes told the tale. “

“We had a great season but didn’t finish the way we wanted,” Green said. “We’ve got

to work hard this summer so we can do what they did next year. This gives me the motiva-tion to push my teammates all summer and push myself to get back to this position.”

Green had already been pushing his team-mates. Moments after the final buzzer, he addressed his older teammates and spoke from the heart.

“Draymond had the quote of all quotes when he said, ‘Look where North Carolina was last year, down 41-12 or whatever it was!… Here they are winning the National Championship,’” Izzo recalled. “It was kind of neat that it came from a player and not from a coach.”

The Spartans will try to return to Lucas Oil Stadium after a typically tough non-conference schedule. The plan is to play the Tar Heels again in Chapel Hill in the ACC-

Big Ten Challenge, to face Florida in East Rutherford, N.J., to visit Texas in Austin and to host Gonzaga in Breslin.

A year from now, the incoming class will feature guards Keith Appling and Russell Byrd, two of the top shooters in the country, and big man Alex Gauna from Eaton Rapids. But MSU has work to do first if plans to win back-to-back titles.

And the head coach had one other com-ment linking the recent past with the future. It showed that the Spartans’ eighth Final Four and third NCAA title might not be far away, injuries and individual improvement willing.

“That’s where we want our program to be – that each and every year we expect to get here,” Izzo said. “Let’s hope next year is somewhat comparable. That’s what great programs do.”

SPORT SHOTS


Hard Work And Hardware marquise Gray hugs a treasured trophy,

but the road didn’t end with a win over Louisville.


Close to 60,000 Michigan State basketball fans paid big bucks to fill Detroit’s Ford Field on April 6 for the NCAA Championship. Meanwhile, Breslin Center welcomed roughly 9,000 Spartans to watch a rematch with North Carolina for free on the center-court video screens.

Many of those fans began lining up at Bres-lin two hours before tipoff, eager to see the Spartans end their season with a win.

MSU students comprised most of the crowd, with help from families and local fans. And the entire lower bowl of the arena was filled well before the 9:27 p.m. tipoff. The crowd more than doubled the 4,000 fans who watched the MSU-Connecticut semifinal two days earlier. To accommodate the over-flow, the upper bowl was opened to specta-tors as the start of the game approached.

As the CBS pre-game show played high above the floor, the entire lower bowl at Breslin took on the personality of the famed Izzone student section, as chants of “Go Green! Go White!” echoed back and forth.

As the network cut away to a shot of MSU coach Tom Izzo addressing his team in the locker room, the crowd’s approval turned to a deafening roar.

The noise continued as the Spartans’ starting lineup was introduced. The cheers were balanced with boos and unprintable comments during the Tar Heels’ introduc-tions. UNC center Tyler Hansbrough was the least popular player in East Lansing.

Once the game began, much of the crowd in the lower bowl stood at rapt attention. When MSU played defense, the crowd began to bounce in unison to the traditional monotone “Ahhhh” chant of the Izzone. But this noise was louder and more intimidating with more twice as many fans as the student section usually held.

When Goran Suton hit his first 3-pointer to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead 49 seconds into the game, the place exploded with the largest cheer of the night.

Little did anyone know that score would give MSU its last lead of the season. A 32-8 UNC blitz gave the winners a 34-11 advantage.

When the first half ended with the Tar Heels ahead 55-34, one would have expected the place to empty. To their credit, however,

SPORT QUICK HIT

fans Get Extra “Home Games”Breslin’s Big Screen Is The Next Best ThingBY DOUG WARREN

roughly 80 percent of the fans remained in their seats – refusing to let what they had witnessed dampen their enthusiasm for the Spartans and their remarkable season.

“They’ve had a great season,” Ed Pratt of Lansing said during a second-half break in the action. “They’ve had some unfortunate breaks in this game. They can’t get a shot to drop. And as Magic (Johnson) said at half-time, it looks like they are trying to rush their plays. I think the excitement of the moment got to them a little bit early. We will see how they play in the second half.”

When the Spartans made a run and to cut the deficit to 13 points with less than five min-utes to play, the energy in Breslin returned.

But Korie Lucious suffered a fracture in his foot and was called for a foul on Ty Lawson seconds later. The vitriol toward the officials and the Tar Heels was unmistakable.

“It has been a great season,” Debbie Hurth of Lansing said. “It’s a little more down tonight.”

“Well, it is and it isn’t,” her husband, John, said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs all year. They are in the Final Four. They made it to the championship game. Tom Izzo has had another great run. He is a great coach. And the guys have played very well this season. They are young and have a good core coming back. The future is bright for the Spartans.”

The positive memories of more than five months were more than enough to outweigh the negative from one night.

They were also enough to make fans dream of 2009-10, when Breslin will be available for another mass viewing of games in India-napolis, where MSU won it all in 2000.


SPORT QUICK HIT

from China To ChampionshipSpartans Prove Traveling Can Be A Good ThingBY ZACH EBLING

I had seen Michigan State pound Michigan by 51 points and take the bite out of the Florida Gators. In fact, I had never missed a National Cham-pionship game when a Tom Izzo-led team had been present.

This year would be no exception.

When the Flint-driven Spartans sent Wis-consin, then Florida back to the Stone Age and won an NCAA title in 2000, the trip from Okemos to Indianapolis took roughly four hours.

This year’s journey home from Beijing would take more than 19.

yet, that 6,637-mile trip paled in com-parison to MSU’s ride to the Final Four.

Before the Spartans left the runway last fall, excitement surrounded a team with Detroit as its final destination. But no “Fas-ten Seat Belt” sign could prepare the team for Terrapin/Tar Heel turbulence.

Air sickness set in as Delvon Roe, Goran Suton and Raymar Morgan battled injuries and illness. And some thought the plane might be grounded when MSU dropped home games to Northwestern and soon-to-be NIT champ Penn State.

Once back at cruising altitude, excep-tional piloting steered the team to touch-down. Along the way, the Spartans reached new heights.

They won 19 games away from home, tying a school record, and ruled a confer-ence that put seven teams in the NCAA Tournament. MSU’s four-game margin was the second-largest in Big Ten history.

Discipline, drive and determination fueled a stingy defense. When the nation’s No. 1 rebounding team arrived at Ford Field, it was met by a family that set records for a Friday shoot-around, for Saturday’s semifinals and for Monday’s rematch with North Carolina.

I was part of that green-and-white sea as the Spartans rode a wave of emotion. Connect-icut’s hopes never made it through customs.

Eventually, even the best journey must come to an end. In its fifth Final Four in 11 seasons, MSU ran into a perfect storm. That didn’t stop hundreds of thousands of Spartans – and others who wished they were – from feeling great pride.

While Monday didn’t produce a third

believe I was back in Detroit. I was certainly a long way from Beijing.

The semifinal win over UConn pushed me to the top of the ESPN pool. And I was sure the Spartans would keep me there with a sixth NCAA victory on Monday.

That outcome wasn’t to be, as UNC earned its fifth national title. But as I had done since the days of Steve Smith, then Shawn Respert, I stayed through the final seconds. So did close to 60,000 others who bled green-and-white. Surveying the scene, I was as proud as I had even been to be a Spartan.

The following Friday, I boarded another plane for Beijing and took an entire half-day in the sky to think about MSU’s accomplish-ments. The Spartans led the nation in victo-ries over top-50 teams. And only one group in NCAA history beat more No. 1 seeds.

MSU spanked the Big East champion Car-dinals, the top seed overall, in Indianapolis to advance to Ford Field. The Spartans also beat Big 12 titlist Kansas, the defending national champ and a logical preseason favorite for 2010.

The location of next year’s Final Four – Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy – should provide the perfect stage for one of Michigan State’s greatest point guards.

Tickets haven’t gone on sale yet. But come next spring, return trips will be booked.

After all, I have never missed a National Championship game in which an Izzo-led team has been present.

Next year will be no exception.

MSU national championship, it left so many Shining Moments that no CBS montage could capture them all.

Luckily, I didn’t miss a minute of that run. Twelve time zones away, I managed to see every basket on a 4x6-inch Internet dis-play – the most-enjoyable hours I’ve spent in Beijing.

you can imagine the excitement I felt when the Spartans kept winning. Con-vincing triumphs and clutch performances punched our tickets to Detroit. My ESPN bracket kept rising in the rankings as MSU and UNC advanced. And a pre-season pledge to return for the Final Four kept getting closer, 40 minutes at a time.

At 4 a.m. on Monday, March 30, Beijing-time, the Spartans put Louisville out of its misery. Izzo’s team knew where it was headed. Seconds later, so did I. Less than four-and-a-half days later, I met my dad at Metro Airport.

Semifinal Saturday was surreal. A tradi-tionally blue town was nothing but green. Huge tents surrounding Ford Field couldn’t begin to hold the fans, even with $20 cover charges. At 3 a.m., street musicians were still playing the “MSU Fight Song” for tips.

Strolling along St. Antoine, it was hard to


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“We’re always excited to see the return of the boys’ state basketball tournament,” said Mike Price, manager of sports development with the Greater Lansing Sports Authority. “It means warmer weather is around the cor-ner. We get treated to some fantastic basket-ball games. And businesses throughout the community get a big shot in the arm.”

According to an economic impact study tabulated by SportsImpacts Inc., 91 percent of attendees for the semifinals and finals were from outside Ingham and Eaton coun-ties. That bodes well for regional restaurants

and hotels, as fans traveling far from home tend to rely more on hospitality services.

The study showed that fans spent an aver-age of $62 daily per person on meals and entertainment. Research also indicated that of the 58,112 in attendance, 28% stayed at least one night at a Lansing-area hotel. The total economic impact on the community

Rare Air The Breslin Center was rockin’ as

Detroit Pershing took on Kalamazoo Central in

the 2009 MHSAA Boys Basketball Class A Final.

Other Champs Invade BreslinBoys Basketball Tourney Brings Big Buzz, Big Bucks To AreaBY BRENDAN DWYER

GREATER lAnSInG SPORTS AUTHORITY

While Michigan State was rolling through the NCAA Tournament this year, Breslin Center played host to 16 basketball teams with their own championship dreams.

The Michigan High School Athletic Associa-tion crowned four state titlists and created lasting memories for hundreds of players, coaches and fans with the semifinals and finals from March 26-28.

The local economy was another big win-ner. But followers of the competing schools and the sport in general left East Lansing with something else – an appreciation of the present and a peek at the future.

Muskegon Western Michigan Christian edged Cedarville by a point for the Class D crown to begin Championship Saturday, and Flint Powers Catholic beat Zeeland in Class B that evening to finish a job it nearly com-pleted 12 months earlier.

But the game that people will talk about for decades was Detroit Pershing’s comeback against Kalamazoo Central, led by a pair of soon-to-be Spartans. After Mr. Basketball, Derrick Nix, had a huge game to get the Doughboys to the final, junior guard Keith Appling took over and delivered one of the best performances by any prep athlete in any sport.

Appling took just 24 shots and scored 49 points, breaking the record of 47 by Detroit Southwestern’s Antoine Joubert nearly three decades ago. The standing ovation from fans of both schools showed just how special Appling’s effort had been and why Tom Izzo had offered him a scholarship as a sophomore.

But the entire event brought a different kind of electricity to the community – a mea-surable buzz while the Spartans were busy in Indianapolis. As people checked in and out of hotel rooms, enjoyed area restaurants and explored other opportunities, a quick check of the math demonstrates the impact.

Over 58,000 fans, many from other parts of the state, came to campus for 12 games. And just as spring melted the gray, winter doldrums to make way for new growth, the success of this tournament brought similar signs of life and reawakening to a sluggish local economy.

was just over $2.2 million.“We enjoyed a ton of additional business

because of the boys’ state basketball tourna-ment,” said Aaron Weiner, general manager of Buffalo Wild Wings in East Lansing. “We saw all kinds of families and had solid num-bers for day business, which was just tre-mendous. Being aware and responsive with special community events is a smart way to boost sales. We’re just excited to be part of a community that is equipped to host great sports tournaments like these.

“We didn’t have to offer big discounts or anything, but placing take-out menus and promotional flyers at the March Madness Hoopfest event and in a lot of the partner-ing hotels was really successful. The cross-promotion did a lot to help businesses while the tournament was in town.”

Just like successful teams, local service pro-viders worked together to serve the region’s influx of high school hoop enthusiasts and drive their individual business goals.

“The increased room nights we get out of the MHSAA boys’ basketball tournament are huge, but also there is something extra special about hosting this particular group,” said Scott Smith, director of sales for the area’s Quality Suites hotel. “The kids are so positive it just sets an upbeat tone through-out the entire region.”

“It has been absolutely spectacular work-ing with the GLSA to bring sports groups into our hotel., It’s a fast-growing market for our whole community, and it has done some really good things for our weekend business. We feel our hotel and the Greater Lansing community are perfectly positioned to host sports groups. We look forward to a long-term relationship with the GLSA.”

Price couldn’t agree more. After it appeared that the tournament might leave Mid-Michi-gan, it stayed in Breslin and again produced a win-win situation for all concerned.

“When we’re out there selling Greater Lansing as a host city for tournaments, we’re selling a lot more than just our athletic ven-ues,” Price said. “Area hotels, restaurants and retailers play a big part in the process and stand to do really well when groups arrive. When these sports groups come to town, the whole community wins.”


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Devil Of A Time MSU coach Suzy Merchant hugs NCAA

second-round hero Mia Johnson after upsetting top-seeded Duke.

SPORT QUICK HIT

MSU Women Make HistorySpartans Run Over Top-Seeded Duke In Breslin StunnerBY LISA BYINGTON

Some sports storylines are just too good, and this one had to be aligned just perfectly – perfect for Michigan State and perfectly awful for the Duke Blue Devils.

A loss Into A Win…Who would have known a disappointment in the Big Ten Tournament could lead to one of the most memorable wins in MSU women’s basketball history?

But it did. That six-point loss to Wisconsin dropped

the Spartans a few lines in NCAA Tourna-ment seeding. Many months earlier, they had earned the right to host the first and second rounds, a quirk of the women’s game. Universities bid to be opening-round sites, based on facilities and potential attendance. Long story short, a No. 1 seed may have to travel a long way from home.

Oh My…On March 16, 2009, the fourth floor at Spar-tan Stadium erupted.

Head Coach Suzy Merchant sat in her chair, holding son Tyler, clapping and smiling. Her players were more animated. Leading scorer Aisha Jefferson stood up and cheered. Direc-tor of Basketball Operations Julie (Pagel) Dombroski, who played for Joanne P. McCal-lie at MSU, ran around high-fiving everyone and every pillar in the room. A former “P” manager walked around in shock, holding her hand over her mouth.

MSU was the 9 seed and Duke the 1. The Blue Devils would have to travel a

long distance. A flight to East Lansing was scheduled. And “P” would be returning “home.”

Homecoming…This was no homecoming anyone would want.

McCallie had more success at MSU than any other women’s basketball coach. Her 2004-05 team shared the Big Ten crown and

thanks to circus shots wor-thy of Barnum & Bailey.

“I felt like it started with Mia Johnson,” Merchant beamed at the end of the game. “At shoot-around, it was almost comical how into it she was. We needed a point guard like there was no tomorrow. She was not only good. She was fantastic.”

Fantastic… was the scene afterward.

MSU students flooded the court. That included some members of the men’s bas-ketball team, who joined the women in a dance and the fight song.

A triumphant head coach stood on the perimeter,

stared and smiled. “I didn’t know where to go,” Merchant

laughed. “I just watched it. I just stood back and looked around and… I don’t know. It was a moment I’ll never forget. “

“It was a little bit of a pride thing,” junior Allyssa DeHaan added. “It kinda showed we’re still alive and can do it without Coach P here. We’re so proud to wear the State jersey and be Spartans and do our own thing.”

Afterward in the locker room, Merchant kept insisting this wasn’t about her. Then, she paused and personalized the moment.

“People want to see their team win. I mean, you don’t just want to play well and have a moral victory. I’m so happy for the administration, for the president, for Mark (Hollis) and Shelley (Appelbaum),” she said before pausing and smiling.

“They hired you, ya know. Here’s the for-mer coach who did a great job, and I didn’t want to disappoint anybody. What I was so happy for is that they weren’t today, that everybody feels good about Michigan State women’s basketball.”

Not everybody. Not the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 9. But Merchant was right. This wasn’t about McCallie any more.

As one MSU administrator said afterward, “This is Suzy’s team now.”

advanced to the national title game. But when she left for Duke in March 2007,

following a handful of overtures, she left MSU feeling like a deflated basketball.

After bolting for Durham without a pub-lic goodbye, McCallie started her introduc-tory press conference: “I would just like to thank Maine (her first head coaching job) and Michigan State for giving me the oppor-tunity to get to Duke.”

MSU was now known as the program Joanne P. McCallie left.

The Game…During a week of build-up, MSU kept insist-ing it wasn’t about Coach P. But when an announced crowd of nearly 5,200 sounded more like 10,400 booing McCallie during introductions, the motive was clear.

So was the scoreboard: MSU 63, Duke 49. If the Blue Devils’ former coach, Gail

Goestenkors, had been on the sideline, would the outcome have been the same? Would the Spartans have played with the same focus? Would Mia Johnson have had an out-of-body experience?

Johnson took over at point guard after Brittney Thomas suffered a season-ending knee injury. And committing only one turn-over, she poured in a game-high 17 points,


Tom Izzo stepped out of the box for Izzo Goes To broadway, an original adaptation by East Lansing’s Greg Ganakas. With help from the MSU community and guest stars from New York, the event deserved as many curtain calls as this Spartan season.

SPORT QUICK HIT

Broadway Snapshots Coaches vs. Cancer Fundraiser Nets Rave ReviewsPHOTOGRAPHY BY J. ROBIN SUMBLER


SPORT COMMUNITY

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online:www.SportLansing.com

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SPORT LAST SHOT

Break A LegIZZO GOES TO BROADWAY • EAST LANSING, MI 05/06/2009

PHOTOGRAPHED BY AL GOLDIS


Triumphs In Trying TimesPride, Persistence Create A Season To RememberBY MARK HOLLIS MSU Director of Athletics

SPORT FINISH LINE

Times are tough! We are constantly surrounded by success and failure. We also know that neither condition is permanent. During tough times, we tend to focus on failures – both our own and those of others. Thoughts of dreams, compassion, opportunities and excellence tend to sit on the shelf, waiting for action.

realized a dream of playing in the Masters by follow-ing his footsteps at Augusta. Moving at a quicker pace, we saw Nicole Bush and Shane Knoll push limits on the track, both establishing amazing times for themselves and their University.

The men’s ten-nis team faced a unique opponent when they partici-pated in a rehabili-tation program at San Quentin State Prison, competing

against inmates. Franklin Gomez came to Michigan State from the Dominican Republic and realized his dream of achieving an NCAA National Wrestling Championship. And, Joe Baum, after nearly 40 years as part of the MSU soccer program, walked off the field for the final time as head coach with a Big Ten Championship trophy in his hands.

As we celebrate our 125th year of Spartan Athletics, I am proud to be a Spartan. We share the success of our teams, student-ath-letes and coaches with others on our campus and in our community.

Likewise, we celebrate the success of our on-campus peers, including the procure-ment and development of FRIB, the site announcement for IBM’s new applications center and the expansion of our medical schools. We embrace the economic devel-opment efforts of Mid-Michigan, our state and our nation. And we are grateful for the support we gain from all Spartans.

We dream, take action, demonstrate com-passion, never fear failure and always stay committed to excellence. Times are Tough. Spartans are Tougher. Go State!

Regardless of the outcome of our actions, we cannot sit and wait for a better tomorrow. Nor can we continue to live in the glory of the moment without a focus on our future. To move forward, it takes dreams to believe, opportunities to develop, action to move, compassion to connect and a commitment to excellence.

It is more important than ever to recog-nize and celebrate our successes and effec-tively learn and adjust from our failures. It is with this perspective that we look back at the past year of Spartan Athletics, a year of focus on our community.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four saw Detroit and the State of Michigan embrace a group of young men as symbols of hope. More than 140,000 fans watched two basketball games at Ford Field. Roughly 30,000 attended the team’s practice. And close to 10,000 cheered at an MSU alumni pep rally at Somerset Mall.

More importantly, the state came to life for a weekend of optimism. We followed Tom Izzo as he led the Spartans past Robert Mor-ris, Southern California, Kansas, and Louis-ville. Then, we welcomed them back home for games against Connecticut and North Carolina in the Final Four.

Compassion described our ice hockey team as players skated with, supported, and built a friendship with Brandon Gordon. Brandon lost his battle with cancer. However, he con-tinues to positively impact the lives of so many people throughout our community.

Immediately after pitching MSU’s first no-hitter in 16 seasons, Nolan Moody’s com-passionate embrace with his father, who

is battling cancer, came after the first game ever played in McLane Baseball Stadium. Our com-munity continues to embrace Nolan and Kevin every day.

Cancer-free for nearly two years, Arthur Ray contin-ues his dream to play football for Michigan State. Mark and Becky Dantonio and the entire Spar-tan football family opened their hearts to Arthur. Our best days have been made even brighter through the presence of Arthur’s compassion and his never-ending smile.

Tom and Lupe Izzo strive for hope and a cure through their efforts with Coaches vs. Cancer, including their performance in a Broadway production that brought atten-tion and financial support to the fight we all want to win.

It takes a collection of individual talents, working together, to achieve as a team. Spartan rowing accomplished back-to-back Big Ten championships. Suzy Merchant led the women’s basketball team to a win over top-seeded Duke and a trip to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The men’s basketball team reached the Final Four for the fifth time in 11 seasons. And the football team made its second consecutive bowl trip to Orlando, this time for a New year’s Day appearance.

We celebrated the U.S. Amateur Pub-lic Links Championship of Jack Newman. Then, many Mid-Michigan weekend golfers


Go Green!Michigan State University Basketball. Coaches. Athletes. Fans. Spartans.Join us as we celebrate the success of one of our great community assets.Thank you, Spartan Basketball, for an inspirational season!

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sport: april & may 2009

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