Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Scott Skiles might match up against Tom Izzo's Spartans this fall in what would be the greatest exhibition game played on the Breslin Center hardwood.
Rumors circulated Tuesday on campus about the NBA legends competing against the Spartans in the preseason Magic Johnson All-Stars game Nov. 2, but some athletics department officials remained doubtful the contest would happen.
"It would take a miracle to pull off," Assistant Athletics Director John Lewandowski said Tuesday afternoon.
But the idea of Magic, his Airness and Larry Legend reuniting one-fourth of the original Dream Team, has some university officials remaining optimistic.
"Tom Izzo is going to have a game," MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson said. "Yeah, I talked to Tom about it, and I talked to Magic. And he's a close friend."
Telephone calls and faxes made to Skiles, Johnson and Izzo were not returned Tuesday evening.
In the past, the Spartans have split games against Johnson's lineup, made mostly of NBA hopefuls, international players and former Spartans. MSU won, 89-87, in 2001 and lost, 104-85, in 2002.
Johnson, a Lansing native, led MSU to its first NCAA Championship in basketball in 1979, ending with a classic battle against Indiana State's Bird. He later led the Lakers to five NBA Championships. In his 13-year career, Johnson was a 12-time NBA all-star and was named NBA MVP in 1987, 1989 and 1990.
Former Spartan great Skiles played for MSU from 1982-86, winning the Big Ten scoring championship in 1986, when he was named as a first-team All-American.
MSU has been known to pull-off miracles before, too. In 2001, the "Cold War," an outdoor hockey game against Michigan played in Spartan Stadium easily broke the world record for a hockey game crowd with 74,554 fans in attendance.
Spartan fans also have to look forward to "BasketBowl," MSU's Dec. 13 matchup with Kentucky at Detroit's Ford Field, which will host the record-breaking attendance of 75,000 for a collegiate basketball game.
