In his sophomore year of high school, Russell Byrd had offers from schools like Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, and plenty of others to play basketball for them.
Over the years, MSU athletics has had its share of memorable performances and moments on and off the field.
Men's basketball and football weren't the only programs that their players go far last fall and this spring.
By Geoff Preston gpreston@statenews.com The hot seat. It's something that coaches at the helm of revenue sports know all too well.
Born in Detroit, Michigan and playing basketball for Central Michigan, Suzy Merchant always had a passion for the sport of basketball.
Senior guard Travis Trice became a NCAA tournament hero with his weekly heroics, helping the Spartans reach the Final Four for the first time since 2010.
The town of Cincinnatus, New York is a rural farming town of just over 1,000 people, and it isn't the place that many people get the opportunity to leave from. Bob Knickerbocker was one of the lucky few that did get to leave. Knickerbocker has been the head athletic equipment coordinator since 1983, and has helped oversee some of the uniform changes that MSU athletics have seen in the past few seasons. He will retire following this school year, but it will come after a long and fulfilling ride with MSU. "This kind of life has been very exciting for me," he said.
Kentucky, Arizona, Duke, Purdue, California and Chicago State were all in pursuit for the 6-foot-8-inch big man.
Head coach Tom Izzo critiqued most of his roster during his end-of-the-season press conference last Thursday.
After losing to Duke in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament, junior guard Denzel Valentine vowed that MSU would return next season. Head coach Tom Izzo placed his faith in his captain during his end-of-season press conference on Thursday, saying he believes Valentine will help the Spartans live up to expectations next season. "He, I think, will take this team to new heights next year," Izzo said.
Before the season began, head coach Tom Izzo pegged freshman guard Javon Bess as a player he expected to make an immediate impact. A preseason stress fracture in Bess' right foot last October robbed him of that opportunity.
This season could be regarded as Izzo's best coaching job, and for good reason.
Reaching his seventh Final Four as head coach of the Spartans this past weekend, Tom Izzo could very well be on this way to a second consecutive appearance in the national semifinals after landing his second McDonald's All-American on Friday. Caleb Swanigan, who held offers from Kentucky, Duke, Arizona and Cal, who were rumored to be the clear cut favorite to pick up the No.
MSU’s season could very well end in Houston next year but thinking it’s a foregone conclusion is a big mistake. The Final Four returns to the Lone Star State next spring and some already have the Spartans penciled in to make it back to where this season ended.
Just a few days removed from the end of MSU’s basketball season, it’s difficult to not look ahead and see the possibilities that lie ahead. MSU will lose two of its three top scorers from this season, senior guard Travis Trice and senior forward Branden Dawson, but junior guard Eron Harris will be eligible next season.
The 2015 NCAA men's basketball tournament was exciting, personally it always one of my favorite times of the year.
After watching MSU get dismantled by Duke in the Final Four last Saturday, head coach Tom Izzo said he may have to adjust his coaching approach moving forward.
Last week, men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo said he dreams of witnessing his basketball program and Mark Dantonio's football program win a national championship. Based on the end-of-season coaches polls for each sport, it looks like Izzo's dream could happen sooner rather than later. The Spartans finished No.
Although Duke was playing about 600 miles from Durham, the Blue Devils found a temporary home Saturday night — the four foot radius around the basket. The Blue Devils absolutely dominated around the rim, outscoring MSU 42-26 in the paint.
As thousands of MSU basketball fans cheered the Spartans on in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night, about a five minute walk down the street in downtown Indianapolis sat hundreds of other Spartan fans in the oldest bar in Indiana -- the Slippery Noodle Inn. "It started with Jud Heathcote," said Slippery Noodle Inn general manager Marty Bacon, referring to the coach's parties the former MSU head basketball coach used to throw at the bar. To this day, the Slippery Noodle Inn continues to be a hotbed for Spartan fans to congregate when a big time MSU sporting event is taking place.