Aloysius Anagonye knows this is his last hurrah.
The senior forward, better known as "Big Al," is heading into the NCAA Tournament with a dark reality - his basketball career may soon be over.
"It does hit home," he said. "But I'm ready to go out with a bang these next six games."
The Southfield native has come a long way since arriving on campus.
After averaging a double-double and leading his squad to state championships in his last two seasons at Detroit's DePorres High School, he had to adapt quickly to MSU.
"I came from a small high school and you knew everyone," he said. "Michigan State is a big place. But I was taken care of real quick. The first time I met Coach, he took care of me."
Anagonye was in for a ride his freshman year as he played a small role coming off the bench during the Spartans' 2000 national championship run.
"It got me real spoiled and selfish," he said.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo said he kicks himself for not redshirting the 6-foot-8, 260-pounder. If Anagonye had been redshirted, he would likely be around next season.
"A couple of areas hurt Al," Izzo said of Anagonye's early days at MSU. "No. 1, he was so unselfish, and No. 2, I think people underestimated how much the fouling hurt him."
Fouling plagued Anagonye from day one, but he slowly has been able to use his body as a defensive weapon, not a hacking tool. While he still has foul problems from time to time, he has become well-known for his low-post defense and rebounding in the Big Ten.
Last season, the Spartans struggled to a 19-12 record, ending with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss. Anagonye averaged 7.7 points and 6.3 rebounds during his junior year, which are career bests.
He knows his 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds this season aren't what his critics expected to see from a senior leader, but he has done many of the things that don't show up in the box scores.
Junior center Jason Andreas, who came into the Spartan program with Anagonye, said it won't be Anagonye's numbers that he'll be remembered for, but everything else.
"The one thing I'll remember about Al is his passion for Michigan State basketball," Andreas said. "It's not often you find a guy who is more dedicated to the program than himself. One of the most unselfish things I've seen him do this year is help out guys like Erazem (Lorbek) and Paul (Davis) who are taking minutes away from him. Still, he's willing to go out and help them, showing he is the ultimate program player."
Regardless, Anagonye knows the clock is ticking on his career. And being six straight wins away from another national championship, he said no one should expect him to go out easy.
"A lot of people get real satisfied because they win a championship toward the end of their career," he said. "I say, 'All right, now I got one. Let's get another one.' Freshman year, it's not mine. Sophomore year, that's not mine. Junior year could have been mine. Now, senior year, it has to be mine and I'm still hungry.
"It gets better because you are leaving. I want my own championship. I want my own name on the board. I want people to always remember me. I want people to say, 'Oh, who won that championship? Oh yeah, that's Anagonye's year.'"
