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Where does MSU rank on the all-time list?

By: Chris Vannini Posted: 10/05/09 6:24pm

ESPN recently released its all-time ranking for college basketball programs. To no one’s surprise, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas and North Carolina were the top four. And who would argue? The teams are all among the winningest programs of all time.

The MSU men’s basketball program came in at No. 15 on the list. While 15th may seem pretty high (or low to some, I’m sure), a closer look shows that the Spartans are just eighth in the Big Ten — behind Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota.

How about pride for the conference?

I can hear the screams coming from Breslin Center now.

While the MSU faithful are surely pointing to the team’s recent five Final Fours under head coach Tom Izzo, it is a hard pill to swallow that there wasn’t a whole lot the program could brag about before Izzo arrived.

Yes, Magic Johnson and the Spartans played in the most-watched college basketball game of all time, but other than that, Jud Heathcote ran an above-average program. The Spartans have only been a part of the Big Ten for about 60 years, far fewer than most of the other teams in the conference.

If you take away Izzo, the program has just two Final Fours and a handful of players to talk about.

So this ranking by ESPN seems a little bit pointless. No prospect is going to choose to go to Iowa because they are a top 10 all-time program because right now, nobody thinks that.

MSU has arguably been the most successful program since Izzo arrived, which is plenty to hang a hat on.

Spartan fans should be proud that the program is so storied despite such a small history. This ranking should even more glorify what Izzo has accomplished here.

If Izzo sticks around for another decade, the program could surely rise into the top 10.

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Commentary:

student

10/05/09 11:08pm

This ranking is stupid. How is MSU basketball behind other programs that had wins and seasons taken away due to NCAA violations?

It doesn’t matter what stretch of time it takes you to accomplish something. Wins are wins either today or 50 years ago.

I am not dissappointed. I feel bad for ESPN.

MSU basketball is easily top 10 in history. Not only for how it has performed but its impact in the game of basketball with development of players and coaches that lead or led some of the nations most important programs and organizations.

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