When Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird met at center court Saturday, it was a meeting of the minds, 25 years after the two played in the 1979 national championship game.

But this time, the two met as elder statesmen of the game, discussing everything from LeBron James to MSU's potential NBA prospects and the state of the NBA.

While Bird didn't play in the game, he served as the Globetrotters honorary coach, watching the game from the end of the bench next to Johnson.

"We came in and changed the league," Johnson said. "They make the money they make because of Larry and I and Michael Jordan. We changed the whole game of basketball when we came in because we brought a team concept back to the game."

While Johnson and Bird had many great battles out on the court, they also have kept a close-knit friendship over the years.

"It's pretty simple, when you play basketball the way we played it, you play to win," Bird said. "It doesn't matter who you play.

"It's easy to go out and compete on the court and separate that from everything else."

Spartans impressive in loss

While Johnson's Globetrotter team beat MSU, 97-83, he did recognize that this Spartans team is the most athletic MSU's had, "without a doubt."

He also commented about how much he was impressed with sophomore center Paul Davis, saying, "He's really going to be an awesome basketball player."

But Johnson cautioned people not to compare Davis to Bird's game.

"All the 10 guys they said played like Larry went into the tank," Johnson said. "So we don't want anybody to talk about how anybody is like Larry Bird."

Johnson will become an MSU student again soon after filling out the paperwork to begin working on completing his communication degree from MSU in 2005. Johnson will take all of his classes online from Los Angeles.

Johnson signed

The Harlem Globetrotters announced that Johnson would be paid $1 a year to be a permanent member of the team, meaning they will travel with his uniform and he can arrive and play with them any time he would like, Globetrotters owner Mannie Jackson joked.

The only other people that have the distinction are Charles "Tex" Harrison and entertainer Bill Cosby.

Freshmen get first glimpse

Five freshmen saw playing time in the exhibition contest.

Guard Shannon Brown played 20 minutes, scoring nine points, while guard Brandon Cotton played nine minutes with one point, center Drew Naymick scored three points in 16 minutes, walk-on center Justin Ockerman scored one point in three minutes and redshirt freshman forward Delco Rowley scored one point in 20 minutes.