Friday, March 29, 2024

The best of the decade

Junior guard Chris Allen reacts from the bench to a shot made in the second half of Thursday’s 88-57 victory over Oakland at Breslin Center. Allen scored a total of eight points during the game.

Photo by Angeli Wright | The State News

Championships and All-Americans. Memorable moments and jaw-dropping plays. The 2000-09 decade has given MSU sports fans memories they will never forget. The next eight pages are filled with the best of the best in the last decade of MSU athletics.

Best team

1. 1999-2000 men’s basketball — Ten years later, no team has matched the Flintstones’ leadership, talent and entertainment value.

2. 2004-05 women’s basketball — The best team in program history not only ran through the Big Ten and beat 13 nationally-ranked opponents, but was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, making it to the national championship game.

3. 2006-07 hockey — The underdogs came out of nowhere to win MSU’s third national championship and its first in 21 years, upsetting anyone that came in its path.

4. 1999 football — The school’s best team since the 1960s. Boasting 15 future pros, MSU went 10-2, beat Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State before beating Florida in the Citrus Bowl on a last-second field goal.

5. 2008 men’s soccer — The perfect mix of offense and defense came together to form one of the best team’s in MSU soccer history. And it came at the perfect time — head coach Joe Baum’s last season at the reins of the program.

Honorable mention: 2000-01 men’s basketball, 2000-01 women’s golf, 2001 women’s cross country, 2002 field hockey, 2006-07 men’s golf, 2008-09 men’s basketball

Best game

1. Hockey vs. Boston College, 2007It’s tough to top winning the national title on a goal with 18.9 seconds to play against the best team in the country. Jeff Lerg reached legendary status at MSU with his performance in this game.

2. Men’s basketball vs. Kentucky, 2005 — A wild back-and-forth affair with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Kentucky sent the game to overtime on a disputed 3-pointer, but MSU weathered the storm and put the Wildcats away in double overtime.

3. 2000 Citrus Bowl — A crazy season that included a highly publicized coaching change ended with a game-winning 39-yard field goal with no time on the clock.

4. Football vs. Northwestern, 2006 — A season that went downhill quickly saw a breath of life when the Spartans overcame a 35-point second half deficit to complete the greatest comeback in college football history.

5. Men’s basketball vs. Wisconsin, 2007Drew Neitzel put the Spartans on his shoulders for a signature win that will go down as one of the best ever at Breslin Center. Oh, what a Neit.

Honorable mention: Men’s basketball vs. Iowa State, 2000; Hockey vs. Michigan (Cold War), 2001; Football vs. Michigan, 2004; Men’s basketball vs. Gonzaga, 2005; Football vs. Notre Dame, 2005

Best moment

1. Mateen Cleaves coming out of the tunnel in the 2000 National Championship — A sprained ankle couldn’t keep MSU’s leader down, as he came back to lead the Spartans to the title.

2. Joe Baum’s last home game as men’s soccer head coach, 2008 — Spartans win first-ever Big Ten regular season crown in front of standing-room only crowd of MSU soccer alumni.

3. 2009 Final Four — The open practice. The Somerset Mall. Durrell Summers’ dunk. The entire experience is one MSU, Detroit and the state of Michigan never will forget.

4. Women’s basketball vs. Duke and Coach P, 2009 — A hot crowd rallied behind the Spartans and led them to the biggest upset in program history against No. 1-seed Duke and the coach who abruptly left two years prior.

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5. Amp Campbell scoring touchdown on fumble return against Oregon one year after injuring neck, 1999 — Campbell was almost paralyzed in 1998 while trying to tackle an Oregon player. He returned a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the 1999 game to give the Spartans a victory.

Honorable Mention: MSU Director of Athletics Mark Hollis’ brilliant masterminding of Basketbowl game against Kentucky and the Cold War hockey game against U-M.

Best individual achievement

1. Jack Newman playing in the Masters, 2009 — The MSU golfer was the first Spartan to qualify for the famed golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., and fell just three strokes shy of the weekend cut.

2. Izzo goes to Broadway, 2009 — Just days after the men’s basketball team’s Final Four run, Izzo logged hours on stage to raise about $135,000 for Coaches vs. Cancer in the unique and inspiring fundraiser.

3. Nolan Moody throws no-hitter, 2009 — In the first game at newly built McLane Baseball Stadium, Moody made MSU history by throwing his first ever “no-no.”

4. Blair White named Academic All-American, 2009 — The former walk-on excelled on the field, being named First Team All-Big Ten, and off the field, being named Academic All-American with a 3.89 grade point average.

5. Kirk Cousins named second sophomore captain in school history, 2009 — In the midst of a quarterback battle, the young quarterback earned the support of his teammates, who elected him captain.

Honorable Mention: Franklin Gomez wins 2009 NCAA wrestling championship, Ryan Miller shut-out record, Rhiannon Banda-Scott scoring perfect 10 on senior day, Avery Steinlage NCAA shutout record.

Best leader

1. Mateen Cleaves — The school’s only three-time All-American, the man who gave MSU men’s basketball its reputation for gritty, heartfelt and tough basketball.

2. Jeff Lerg — Despite small size, he played with enough heart to carry the entire team, earning him the unorthodox title of captain his senior season.

3. Travis Walton — The saying is cliché, but there’s no better way to describe Walton — as a captain, he simply was MSU’s heart and soul.

4. Chris Lawrence — He wasn’t the best player and didn’t see much ice time, but his leadership in the locker room helped propel the Spartans to a national title.

5. Aisha Jefferson — What Walton was to the men’s team, Jefferson is for the women’s team: MSU’s heart and soul, led even through a devastating ACL tear.

Honorable Mention: Alan Anderson, Drew Miller, Javon Ringer, Drew Stanton

Best sound-byte

1. John L. Smith halftime interview, 2005After Ohio State blocked a field goal to score a game-changing touchdown at the end of the first half, Smith exclaimed to the ABC sideline reporter that “the kids are playing their tails off, but the coaches are screwing it up!”

2. John L. Smith slapping himself, 2006Smith slapping himself at his post-game press conference following a last-second loss to Illinois made highlight shows across the nation.

3. Mark Dantonio “It’s not over,” 2007 — Following a loss to Michigan where U-M running back Mike Hart referred to the Spartans as “little brother,” the MSU coach let the Wolverines know the Spartans would be back.

4. Tom Izzo’s mantra — “We’ll play anybody, anyplace, anytime. It doesn’t matter, morning, noon or night, and
it doesn’t matter who it is.”

5. Steve Smith — “We set the standard, being the first ones to come up with this concept,” said Smith at the 10-year anniversary of the Clara Bell Smith Academic Center, toward which he donated $2.5 million.

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