The first sign that the 2003-04 MSU men's basketball team was doomed to mediocrity was Nov. 1 - the day the U-M football team beat the Spartans at Spartan Stadium.

That morning, a bronze statue of Earvin "Magic" Johnson was unveiled in front of Breslin Center, its most notable feature being its remarkable resemblance to Jay or Sam Vincent. Before Magic pulled the cord to display his likeness, though, a pep rally disguised as a dedication took place inside Breslin on the court.

All 6-foot-9 of Magic's pinstriped suit sat in front of a few thousand alumni and their families that morning for the grossest display of glad-handing and sentimental rehashing since America said goodbye to Johnny Carson. Magic sat with Tom Izzo, Jud Heathcote, Magic's coach at MSU in the late 1970s, and his former coach at Lansing Everett High School, George Fox. Alongside and intermingled with them were the usual MSU athletics alumni masters of ceremony and the current MSU administration brass. Then, behind all in a semi circle of people who looked as if they'd rather not be there was the 2003-04 men's squad, each paired with a former member of the 1979 national championship team that Magic led to East Lansing's first "One Shining Moment."

No less than three individuals at this dedication ceremony laid on the thick charm by using their time on the podium to proclaim that this is the year "another" national championship team will come "home" to East Lansing. The current hoops squad nodded in well-behaved agreement, and the fans in the stands clapped their approval. Then, Magic decided he wanted to put on his green and white and watch that afternoon's football game, and all were happy.

But they had reason to be happy. On Nov. 1, the MSU basketball team was third-best in the nation. The wave of momentum from a surprising Elite Eight run last season seemed to reach a perpetual crest throughout the summer and then oddly with each surprising win the football team pieced together. There was no reason to think for one second that the MSU team wasn't at least a Final Four favorite. But this was all before anyone had played a game of basketball.

Then came Dec. 3. Duke at Breslin. Silver uniforms and a 22-point loss. "I don't think I've been more disappointed in my nine years here in a team's performance," Izzo said.

Has there been a more disappointing season than this one in Izzo's entire tenure? In the beginning, there weren't many expectations as Izzo built a team that he wanted to coach. Then, he won championships and rings, Big Ten and national. Now, there's no excuse for what we all saw last Thursday.

Inability to put an opponent away. Mental mistakes, foul trouble, turnovers. Choke artists.

So after two first-round losses in three seasons, it's time to be the realist and give the optimism up. As long as the core group of players remains the heart of this MSU men's basketball team, don't expect any shining moments of triumph and don't expect a bronze Paul Davis outside Breslin Center 25 years from now.

The minute we stop asking for perfection is the minute the program becomes second-rate. Tack it up in your lockers, boys. You've got about eight months of off-season work with this as your motivation.