Four days removed from its Sweet 16 loss, the Michigan State men’s basketball team isn’t sulking in disappointment.

Five MSU players — Carson Cooper, Coen Carr, Cam Ward, Jesse McCulloch and Divine Ugochukwu — took to IM West to play pickup basketball with students and engage with the fan base.

It was hot and stuffy in the main gym at MSU’s biggest student recreation center, but that didn’t deter the crowd of hundreds of students looking to interact with the players they usually only get to see in-game. 

Around 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, Cooper put out an invite on his Instagram story announcing he and his teammates would be around for some hoops. Two and a half hours later, the gym was full of students cramming into the bleachers and along the sidelines. 

Cooper said being able to come out and be with the fans who have supported him through four years is something he’s glad he can do.

“It's awesome. These guys are the best,” Cooper said, talking about the hundreds of student fans in attendance. “They show up for home games and everything. So, for them to come out here for some intramural BS is pretty cool.”

Cooper was the first to get to the gym, followed by the four others. It didn’t take long before the five Spartans found the first group of students to play. It was a weeknight dunk contest with each player trying something new. Off the backboard alley-oops, half-court shots and slick dribble moves were just a taste of the plays erupting the crowd. 

Freshman kinesiology major Troy Fox was one of the first to test his luck against the group of Spartans that once boasted the nation’s No. 1 defense. Severely undersized, he gave it his all and said it was fun trying to get past the players. Having fun was the focus for Fox, who was drenched in sweat by the end of the game.

“It was a great experience being able to play against them,” Fox said. “Hopefully, some of them return, and we can do it again next year. At the end of the day, we're all here for fun, so it was great.”