To be labeled a dynasty is the greatest honor a team can ever achieve.

It speaks of complete dominance in a single sport during an extended period of time.

However, it is a feat rarely accomplished in college basketball.

“To me, the only true dynasty in college basketball has been UCLA, because they won 10 titles in 12 years (1964-75),” ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said. “That’s a dynasty. In my opinion, that word has been misused.”

Bilas called the back-to-back titles by Duke in 1991-92 a great accomplishment, but not quite a dynasty. He said it’s more like a beginning to a possible dynasty.

“Since UCLA the standard has been, can you win back-to-back?” he said. “(MSU) may do it, and I think they probably will.”

Senior guard Charlie Bell agrees with Bilas, adding it will take another MSU championship to justify any talks of dynasty.

But Bell is quick to state MSU is an elite program well on its way to the dynasty level.

“This program is here to stay,” he said. “Hopefully we can build this into a dynasty.

“Right now we’ve built this program up to where we feel it’s one of the elite in the country. We just need to keep doing what we’ve done.”

What the Spartans have done is win, a lot, and often.

During the last four years MSU’s record is 115-23. In those four years the Spartans have also won four straight Big Ten regular-season championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles, one NCAA Championship and will make their third-straight Final Four appearance, against Arizona, on Saturday in Minneapolis.

Sophomore forward Al Anagonye said the Spartans don’t feel they’ve gotten the respect they deserve despite all the achievements. But that’s just more motivation to succeed, he said.

“That’s part of our drive, to go out there and play every game as a championship game,” he said. “We know that every game counts to our dynasty. Wins and championships tell people what kind of team you are.”

So what kind of team is MSU? If it’s on its way to becoming a dynasty it’s a question that must be answered, because every dynasty has one key element.

For UCLA it was head coach John Woodenand his legacy of dominating centers like Bill Walton.

Izzo said the two things that set MSU apart are work ethic and the overall family atmosphere of the Spartans.

He said it’s that work ethic that’s allowed MSU to lead the nation in rebounding margin the past two seasons, and the family atmosphere has allowed it to move on after losing key players like Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson.

“I’m asking my players to build something here so that when we leave the tradition carries on,” he said. “It’s something that’s done over time. We’re on the right road now and we’ll see if we can maintain it.”

Repeating as the NCAA Champion would go a long way toward maintaining the tradition. Regardless, Izzo said MSU has done something special.

“Three Final Fours, I think, says something about consistency,” he said. “That’s what anybody looks at in a program. In this day and age, I think it’s incredible. In that respect, I think we should at least be looked at as something special.”

Izzo always says it’s his players that have put MSU in the position it’s in. That may be true, but the only constant in any dynasty is the coach.

“Any team is always a reflection of what the coach is,” Anagonye said. “Coach Izzo is the one that put the talent here, together. He directs us.”

Bilas said the success of Izzo and MSU in such a short period of time has inflated expectations in East Lansing so much that fans don’t quite realize what they have.

He said most people don’t understand how difficult it is to do what Izzo and the Spartans are doing.

“I think Tom Izzo is on the highest level of college coaches,” Bilas said. “The plane he’s on, there’s nobody above him. He’s that good.

“As long as Tom Izzo’s there, Michigan State is going to be a great program. He’s one that you better cherish while you’ve got him.”

Izzo said the praise and accomplishments are all nice, but said the greatest pressure for any good team comes from within, adding he’s far from satisfied.

“What I want to do is win another national championship,” Izzo said. “That’s definitely what you’re striving for.”

Bell said the Spartans have two wins left in them and will not be satisfied unless they win the 2001 NCAA Championship.

However, he said nothing can change what MSU has accomplished.

“They can’t erase what we were,” he said. “They can never take away what we’ve done.”