As the court inside Breslin Center was taken apart piece by piece, one couldn’t help but think of MSU’s 2000 National Championship won on that very floor.
It stands as a foundation for the entire program - the NCAA title, the Big Ten championships, the 53-game home-court winning streak. That foundation seemed at risk this season, but when MSU defeated Minnesota 74-55 on Thursday to climb above .500, it began to solidify.
And it was after that very game that Mateen Cleaves, the starting point guard for the national champions, watched the floor come down from the bleachers at Breslin Center.
To his left and right sat freshmen Kelvin Torbert and Alan Anderson. The two listened intently as Cleaves talked about basketball, MSU and life after Spartan basketball.
Since the talk, the Spartans have upset No. 25 Indiana and No. 18 Ohio State to pull within one game of the conference lead.
And with the Big Ten Tournament starting Thursday in Indianapolis, the same city where MSU captured the NCAA title, Cleaves isn’t worried.
“They’ll be OK,” he said. “I’m not worried about them. The main thing is that they’re starting to play better towards March.”
But March is when freshman are notoriously known for hitting the wall.
Cleaves said the long season takes its toll on a freshman’s legs.
“It’s different than high school,” he said. “How hard practice is, how hard the game is - you can’t take any days off.”
As the 2001 Gatorade National Player of the Year, Torbert said he was never forced to work as hard in high school as he does at MSU.
“I didn’t really have to play a lot of defense in high school,” Torbert said. “So I knew I would have to pick it up from the jump. We’ve heard a lot about (the wall). It’s just something we have to play through. Hopefully the older guys will help us get through that.”
Freshman guard Chris Hill said success is the best medicine.
“I think winning gives us momentum to get through that,” Hill said. “It’s obviously something that a lot of freshman go through. Especially with as many minutes as we all play.
“It’s something that we have to block out the best we can and not worry about.”
Anderson, Hill and Torbert each average more than 25 minutes a night for the Spartans. But so far, the freshmen have handled the pressure.
Hill is third for MSU in scoring with 11.3 points per game and first in steals with 14. Anderson is second in steals with 12.
Even though Torbert, who came in with more hype than Anderson and Hill, is struggling, Cleaves said he’ll come around.
“The sky’s the limit for him,” Cleaves said. “That’s one thing I’m not worried about.”
Cleaves said he’s seen what Torbert is capable of, especially his leaping ability.
“I saw it every day in the summer,” he said. “He’ll give you a little glimpse every now and then of what people have to look forward to. He’s not going to give you too much, he’s keeping them waiting and that’s a good thing.
“They’ll get a chance to see. They’ll just have to wait longer than we expected.”
