Is it possible for one player to turn an entire program around?  Why Yes, Yes it is!  Of course that player has to be a one of a kind talent that comes along once in a blue moon.  And he must possess not the only the skill and talent that is so rare and unique that coaches will knock down his door trying to get him to come to their University.  But most importantly this player must have the kind of charisma that you only find on the Ed Sullivan Show!  It makes it a heck of a lot easier if that player grew up playing in your Universities backyard and has grown up wanting to wear the Green and White!   That Magic player is of course the one and only Earvin Johnson from Everett High in Lansing Michigan.  He was the most heavily recruited player ever from Michigan and when he chose hometown Michigan State (and Jud Heathcote) over all the other suitors he immediately gave credence to this fledgling program.  You might not believe it but the Spartans were the New Kids on the Block in the Big Ten at least as far as respect goes. That would all change after Johnson’s inaugural season as he showed he was the real deal times ten as he took over the Big Ten with his startling ballhandling and basketball savvy.  Nobody played like this kid with the passion and the grace (and the size) as he led the Spartans from the basement to contention in one year.  Now what will he do for an encore as getting to the post season was one thing but now he wants the whole ball of wax.  Instead of a tourney invite the fans (and alumnus) want it all.  They know the clock is ticking as the pros are calling and this Kid has a hard time saying no to anything.  Of course one man cannot do it all by himself even if he is a 6’9 point guard who can score, board, and is the best passer in the country.  The Magic Man needs a supporting cast and it is up to former assistant Tom Izzo to find some kids who can hit open shots (as there are a bunch of those with Earvin running the show), defend and rebound.  Magic will take care of the rest! 

First the Spartan Faithful were just happy to have the Magic Man around for another season as most off season rumor munging had the pros convincing the Hometown Kid from Lansing that he belonged with them. Magic is arguably the most entertaining player in the country.  He does it all for the Spartans.  He handles the ball, makes great decisions, gets his teammates involved, bangs inside for boards and is even learning to shoot.  What is best about him is that he does it with a smile the size of the Great Lakes.  His personality and charisma are unbelievable.  He may not be the best player in the country (he is damn close though) but he is the happiest and funnest to watch.  He loves the limelight and everything that goes with that and the media and fans love him no matter what he says or does.  It is also tough to match up with a six foot nine point guard who handles the rock like it was attached to him.  He may have been the most important player to his teams success in the country.  He definitely earned his All American honors and was voted MVP of the Big Ten (shared with Jerry Lucas).  Where would this program be if he had decided to go somewhere else?  Or took the big money from the Pros? 

 Supporting Magic is a group of upperclassmen who are solid performers but the key will be the freshman Izzo has brought in to challenge for playing time.  This group assuredly will upgrade the athleticism and this was a promise given Magic to return.  Magic would never throw his guys off the bus (or would he) but he got tired of doing all of the heavy lifting with a group of guys that are just a notch above the intramural ranks.  Not all of these guys are at that level as there is even one who could challenge Magic for playing time at his position.  Not, but this kid has some skills and is without question a better long-range shooter than Johnson.  You want a ball handler extraordinarre who can also shoot lights out?  Then you get sophomore Scott Skiles.  The kid can light it up but may be as good of a passer as there not named Earvin.  He does not seem to mind.  Skiles was the hero of the Indiana State tournament when he led his small school to a huge upset against two bigger schools (ala Hoosiers) where he scored over 30 points a game and that is without the 3 point line.  The tough albino kid is a gym rat who loves the three point line but also had some ‘growing pains’ in college and got into a bit of mischief (Bob Marley is King) and Izzo had to sit him for a few games.  He came back and had lost his starting job but it might have been better for the team having Skiles come in with the second unit.  He is a terrific Quarterback on the court who truly understands the game and will get his guys in the right spot.  He is nowhere near the special talent Johnson is but he is a fine point guard in his own right and is adept at hitting threes off the dribble (not an easy task) or catching and shooting when the Magic Man kicks it out of the fantastic Spartan break.   Juniors Terry Furlow and Ralph Simpson split time at the two and both bring it offensively.  Simpson is a world class shooting guard who is a terrific complement to Johnson.  Simpson is a Detroit kid who played high school ball with Spencer Haywood and led their High School to a state title.  He has not received the recognition of that terrific post player but Simpson is almost as good.  He can flat score and finishes on the break about well which means with flair if you are from Michigan.   At 6’5 200 pounds he has the perfect size for the wing and looks to start next to Magic but like Johnson has to improve his long-range jumper.  The three is the key and no matter how good you are at finishing or the mid-range game if you can’t shoot the three sooner or later you are going to get bumped for somebody who can.  It’s just about math man!  Furlow comes from Flint Michigan (Yabba Dabba Doo as there are a bunch more coming from that town as Izzo has made that his own personal recruiting mecca) and has the size 6’4 190 to get the job done on the wing.  He, like Simpson, are skilled players who can dominate defenders one on one, just ask Magic about that.  Furlow used to play Johnson when he was in high school coming up to campus to hang with the big boys and got dominated when he went up against Furlow.  Apparently the first game he lost 15-0.  Of course Magic used that as motivation and is now doing well against his now teammate but those are the stories that make players great.  As for Furlow he is a better outside shooter than the other wing he will split time with in Simpson and will almost assuredly start even if Izzo drops some bigger guys down to the three.  Magic needs some somebody he can kick the ball to in the corner and the wings and Furlow is his best bet and they already have a heck of a rapports.  Furlow can also handle the rock and will be a great complement to Magic but then again so would Simpson.  Perhaps Izzo will start them both until some of the new kids he has brought in get their feet wet.  Of course there is a chance this trio is as dominant as it sounds on paper (at least offensively) and the Spartans actually become contenders for the Big10 title this year?  It could happen.  With the Magic Man back in Lansing anything is possible!  Furlow and Simpson might be the favorites to win the wing roles but there is plenty of competition.  Seniors Stan Washington, Al Ferrari and Julius McCoy are all in the mix for playing time.  McCoy has the best chance as he is an athletic 6’2 190 from Farrell Pennsylvania and has started at various times here.  A terrific leaper McCoy can go inside with the big guys but can also run the court.  Like the rest of this group he is not a great shooter but his athleticism gives him an advantage and his toughness should not be undervalued.  Ferrari is a 6’4 190 from Brooklyn with the game and attitude to match.  Ferrari’s nickname is the ‘pickup man’ as he has a penchant for filling in for other’s on the defensive end and covering their spots and also because of his good looks he can get chicks for the guys on road trips.  On the court he is a gamer who is the best of this lot defensively so he has a chance of sticking.  Even if he doesn’t no way Izzo cuts him as he might have a revolt.  Washington is a nice all-around player from Detroit who is solid on both ends.  At 6’3 180 he is better suited for the two guard and he might not be as dynamic as Simpson or Furlow but he can play and is the best shooter of the bunch. There are a couple of other two guards that have a shot and we mean that literally.  Junior Mike Robinson and Sophomore Sam Vincent can flat score.  Robinson is a 5’11 150 pounder from Detroit who is a long range sniper.  If he was a little bigger this kid would be a star but that seems to motivate him and he has fallen in love with the three though he claims he used to shoot form further out before the line came into play.  Vincent is the opposite as he a get to the hoop guy.  At 6’2 185 he is homegrown and part of a family that is royalty here in Lansing.  He might be relegated to the bench or he has eligibility left on the JV squad but this kid will help this program soon.  There are two more guards who set the tone for the point guard position for the Spartans long before Magic came to town.  Seniors Chet Aubuchon, Bob Anderegg and Jack Quiggle might not get much playing time this year but at one point they were the quarterback of this team.  Aubuchon was dubbed the ‘Houdini of the Hardcourt’ due to his incredible dribbling and quickness.  This 5’9 140 pounder from Gary Indiana was the first star here and first All-American but got his finger infected and had to get blood transplants for almost a year.  He was actually close to not making it out of the hospital but he has back on the recovery trail and who knows after all he has a year of eligibility left.  If Magic would have left there might have been a chance but I am sure Aubuchon is comfortable with his legacy as it is.  Anderegg is a 6’3 combo guard who has never really started in Lansing but at one point was a huge part of this program.  He has a long road in front of him if he is going to play much this year with all the great guards on this roster.  Quiggle was the leader of the team that made that improbable run in the Big Dance and was the kind of leader every team needs.  6’3 and 190 from South Bend Quiggle is about as opposite as Aubuchon (and Magic) as a point guard can be and his chance of getting on the court for any meaningful minutes with Johnson and Skiles around are slim to none but he will be on the roster in case something should happen and of course for his leadership.  Quiggle almost hit the shot heard round the world in that tourney run as his half court prayer at the end of regulation against North Carolina in the elite eight to break a tie score went in but was deemed after the horn.  The Tar Heels went on to win that game but there is a game down in Chapel Hill where these new Spartans will seek revenge for that game that many around here thought was a horrendous call.  Quiggle is somewhat of a legend on this campus and he has even been elected team captain once again.  In all honesty he will be more of a coach than player and there are even rumors that he might take over the JV squad. 

Jaime ‘Shoes’ Huffman was another junior who only played a few games but became famous for his one game he came in during a Spartan blowout and could not get his shoe on.  He finally got it on and threw up a 30 foot prayer that went at the buzzer.  

As you can see the perimeter game is in good hands for Michigan State but what about the front court?  Sadly, the big men have always been made out to be the Achilles heel on the great Spartan guard oriented teams.  They are not that bad.  Sure they might not be the Hoosiers or the Boilermakers but this group of front court players can play.  A little!  And little is a key word here as the biggest projected starter going into this year is yep you guessed it Magic Johnson.  But that’s not all bad because after all with most of the scoring and attention going towards the ‘Supreme’ back court all they have to do is play some defense, grab some rebounds and flush down some of the great alley oops from Magic and the boys.  Senior Johnny Green is the incumbent at center but the kid only goes 6’5 and 200 pounds.  Still, he is a terrific rebounder who can flat leap through the roof at the Breslin Center.  Undersized for this conference, or any conference for that matter, Green has to work for everything that he gets and he does that.  He is a mature ballplayer that knows that he does not have to be the star to be productive though he was the main man on that infamous run a few years back even if most of his scoring was from putbacks and dunks.  After all when he got to East Lansing after a stint in the Military he could barely make a layup.  Originally from Dayton Ohio Green is developing a decent offensive game reliant on his ability to jump but his role is to board and defend and he is pretty dang good at that.  Greg “Special K” Kelser is Magic’s side kick in crime.  A guy who can run and score and loves to fill the lane and finish one of Magic’s awesome passes.  Kelser is also developing more than just a high flying game.  Another Detroit kid Kelser can rebound for a small forward (though he is scheduled to start the year as the four) but sometimes gets overmatched when he is moved underneath.  He is kind of a tweener with not quite the handles to be a three but not quite the muscle for the four.  Still, he was a mainstay on this roster due to his experience and his intelligence (both on and off the court) and he is the true glue that holds this team together with his leadership.  The kids really do look up to Special K for advice and guidance on this team.  His relationship with Magic is famous and his role on this team is never in doubt as long as he can still snatch alley oops out of the air and send them home courtesy of the Magic Man.  Sophomore Jay Vincent was another piece of the puzzle as he may be the best old school low post option on the team (well besides Magic when he decides to postup) and is adept at delivering when given the ball or finding an open man.  He too is a bit small for power forward (6’7 190) but does provide solid minutes when he is called upon but Izzo is bringing up a bunch of big guys to try and move him back to his more natural position.  Included are a couple of seven footers (one a freshman and one a JC transfer which is not something this program normally does) and Izzo did pull off a coup when he stole the best low post big man from the state of Indiana.  Yeah, I am sure the General is not happy about that one but this kid can play right now here while he would have had to wait in line behind McGinnis and Benson and Bellamy in Bloomington.  Good choice kid but the new coach is not just going to give these kids starting roles, he will make them earn it and if you don’t play defense and especially rebound no matter how good you are on the offensive you won’t play for Izzo.  The Spartans do have a group of upperclassmen who are not going to give up their roles without a fight foremost of which is senior Bob Brannum.  Brannum is an unskilled 6’5 215 pound post from Winfield Kansas who transferred from Kentucky this summer.  He immediately took the role of bodyguard for Magic who had been getting maligned quite a bit in the past ala what used to happen to the big guy out in LA before he got that redhead as a sidekick.  Perhaps having this guy around is why the Magic Man stayed.  Brannum’s nickname is Tank so you know what he is bringing and he is not afraid to get kicked out of a game or two.  Brannum does not have enough talent (or size) to last with Izzo’s recruits but he most definitely will be somewhere on the roster.  Speaking of undersized fellow senior Horace Walker has been playing the post for three years now as he goes 6’3 210.  The Chester Pennsylvania native can of course flat leap and is tough as nails but come on man there is no way this will continue with Izzo in town.  Walker has faded since his days as Green’s sidekick in their ‘monster’ lineup back in the day and will be just trying to stay on the court but he is one heck of an athlete so don’t count him out.  Another senior, Pete Gent, has got some minutes up front here but is another undersized kid who probably won’t make the roster.  Gent is a 6’4 190 pounder from Bangor Michigan who is nowhere near the athlete Walker is though there are rumblings he is going to try out for the football team this fall as he supposedly has good hands.  There are two juniors in the mix as well with Lindsay Hairston and ‘Wild’ Bill Kilgore going to get their shot once again to prove they can handle the paint.  Hairston has got a good chance of starting or at least getting significant playing time as was heavily recruited coming out of high school from Detroit.  This kid is a tough inside player even though like most of his teammates he is undersized for the post at 6’7 and a svelte 180 pounds.  He has been stuck behind Green and Kelser for his first two years but when he has played he has performed well as he is a better on the block scoring option than either one of them.  Kilgore as his name can attest is a physical player who in his bio says he loves water skiing.  This 6’7 215 brut from River Rouge Michigan was almost drafted into the Vietnam War but got this scholarship and has made the most of it.  He is not going to remind anyone of George McGinnis underneath but he won’t back away from anyone either and that includes Brannum who apparently there have been quite a few tussles this summer with in the infamous rebounding drills Izzo runs. I guess football helmets had to be put on which I think would be a good sign for the upcoming season.  The favorite for a starting role down low next to Green however is sophomore Jay Vincent.  Vincent is Sam’s brother and thus another Lansing kid who had a terrific freshman year.  He came off the bench primarily but easily became the team’s best low post option.  At 6’7 220 he is not much of a board guy but this team needs him to score in the paint and that he does well.  Now, of course he is not a seven footer so he does have a hard time guarding the big boys of this Big10 but his offense is too good not to be a big part of this team’s future.  Of course we do not know how he nor anyone else will gel with Izzo who though he might have mentored under Heathcote will still be bringing his own style of basketball and more importantly a bunch of his own players that he recruited especially for some reason from Flint.  Maybe he is trying to get those kids out of that town that it seems the rest of the world forgot?  But what is it about that town that develops so many great players?  It must be the water!   

The Michigan State Spartans have struggled through some up and down years in the Big10 but the future looks bright in Lansing.  Tom Izzo is the main man here now and knows how to coach and he learned from the best.  After all he sat next to Jud Heathcote for many years and has learned how to run a team and coach a game.  More importantly though might be that Izzo has been the main recruiter for all of that time and has handled the JV squad.  Supposedly he has brought in one of the best classes in the country which is a primary reason he convinced Magic to stay around for one more year.  He believes he can coach this team to a final four and then as he says who knows what will happen especially when you got the most complete and charismatic player in the country running the show.  Izzo has been handed some great players for this program none of which is more important than Earvin Johnson.  The Magic Man is back and the Spartans are ready to shock the Big10 and the world and put Spartan basketball up on the elite shelf with Indiana, Ohio State and the hated Wolverines.  And with the schedule Izzo has put together the national recognition will come as well as games against North Carolina, Cincinnati, Duke, Marquette, Notre Dame, LaSalle and the big one in LA as they get a shot at the Bruins.  Can’t wait to see Magic and his movie star smile in Hollywood!  Oh and there is a little game in early December that you might want to mark down as the Spartans host the other Midwestern kid that the fans can’t get enough of as Larry Bird and the Indiana State Sycamores.  Bird might be the only kid in the country getting more publicity than Magic and I am sure that is sitting well with this kid who loves attention from the media and the fans almost as much as he loves attention from the ladies!