Whenever the "dance cam" promotion comes up at an MSU men's basketball game, all eyes turn to Matt Shaw.

As he does for every game, the supply chain management sophomore descends on cue from his spot in the Izzone's upper bowl and assumes center stage on the landing at the bottom of the section. When the music begins, Shaw bursts into action, strutting through a spirited routine of thrusts and shimmies that's equal parts Tina Turner, Shakira and MC Hammer.

What began early last season as a playful bet between friends has become Shaw's calling card around campus. He has a Facebook.com group in his honor ("I'd Do the Guy Who Dances to the YMCA Song at Bball games"), and he's been asked to try out for Sparty.

Whenever the cameras show Shaw on the Breslin Center big screen, the crowd erupts in unison. Others have tried dancing alongside him, and they've been soundly booed.

At last week's game against Minnesota, Shaw began his routine wearing a T-shirt with the Gophers' block 'M' on it, which drew a confused hush from his usual admirers. But when Shaw closed his show by dramatically ripping the shirt apart to reveal an MSU shirt underneath, the crowd once again exploded in delight.

Here are excerpts from a conversation this week with MSU's most recognizable performer:

The State News: How would you describe your dancing style?

Matt Shaw: Um … comedic limb-flailing?

Where do you get inspiration for your moves?

I look for the stupidest moves online; sometimes friends send videos — the sprinkler, Pinocchio, things like that. I saw this one for an Indian pop song. The dancer's supposed to be the Indian Michael Jackson. I've been practicing that.

Are you surprised you've developed kind of a cult following?

Yeah, it's weird. I don't know how people recognize me around campus because you can't see my face on the screen. But being a tall, lanky guy, apparently I have a certain gait. You'll be kind of walking around, maybe even in the middle of the night, and someone will be like, "Hey, it's the Izzone dancing kid!" At Meijer, 40-year-old guys come up to me. It's like I'm a celebrity around town.

Has anyone from the team ever noticed or said anything to you?

Someone always asks me that. I'm not really sure — it's a timeout, so they should be paying attention to Izzo.

Any other kinds of recognition?

I was on ESPN once. Someone sent me the link before Christmas. I'm kind of doing the arm-flailing thing, and the announcer said, "Someone had too much eggnog this morning." I really haven't had any eggnog before a game.

You kind of always wonder, "Oh, man, why am I doing this? It's kind of crazy." But it's pretty funny, and everyone enjoys it. I'm always just down for everyone having a good time and cheering on the Spartans.