So it's not the 2000 Senior Day, when Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson kissed the floor before their final home game at Breslin Center. And it's not 2005, when Chris Hill, Kelvin Torbert and Alan Anderson made their final home appearance. But it's Senior Day nonetheless, and before the Spartans face off against Indiana on Saturday, four seniors will be honored.
Brandon Darnton, DeMarcus Ducre, Jake Hannon and Brian Tibaldi will take the Breslin Center floor for the final time. All four are walk-ons, though Ducre was awarded a scholarship for his final season. Darton and Tibaldi have scarcely seen quality minutes, but Hannon and Ducre have plugged holes for the Spartans during a few Big Ten games, most recently in the Spartans' win over Wisconsin on Tuesday.
A reporter asked head coach Tom Izzo if ESPN's "College GameDay" was coming to East Lansing because of Hannon's final home game.
"That, or Ducre, Tibaldi, one of the three" Izzo laughed, "or Brandon Darnton. You've got four guys there."
Izzo hinted his time with the walk-ons has been interesting.
"I've got to write a book on those four — how they got here, what they've done — and hope that Hannon makes it in the ophthalmology area so I can get new eyes and read the book that I write," Izzo said. "That's what I'm hoping for."
Drew Naymick, who earned a medical redshirt for the 2005-06 season after injuring his shoulder, will not participate in Senior Day and is expected to return to the team next season.
"I think he'll be back," Izzo said. "He's not going to go through the ceremony.
"So unless he goes pro early like Shannon (Brown) …" Izzo joked.
In the spotlight
They say there's no such thing as bad publicity. Try telling that to a couple of Spartans.
Former MSU center Paul Davis, now in his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers, and current MSU guard Maurice Joseph recently had their faces in the national spotlight, but it's probably not the kind of recognition they were looking for.
Davis is featured in a Gatorade commercial starring Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. In the TV spot, Wade drives past Clippers guard Shaun Livingston, then sizes up Davis for a dunk.
Two smaller heads, representing Wade's conscience, appear over the shooting guard's shoulders and barb back and forth.
Bad Wade: "Take it in, and dunk on him!"
Good Wade: "He's a large man, Dwyane!"
Bad Wade: "Do what you do! Dunk on him!"
Bad Wade wins out. Davis gets posterized.
Surprisingly enough, Davis agreed to be dunked on in the staged clip. Wade, Davis, Livingston and Heat forward Udonis Haslem filmed the clip at the Miami Arena, where the Heat played their home games from 1988-99.
Jim Paul, a copy writer for Element 79, the advertising agency that produced the commercial, said Davis was recruited for the clip by Livingston.
"Dwyane was friendly with Livingston, and we needed someone willing to be dunked on," Paul said. "(Davis) was very, very nice. There was no ego at all.
"Obviously he got a little money out of it, but we talked, and he couldn't have been nicer."
Paul said the former Spartan worked well for the spot because of his relative anonymity amongst NBA fans and his physical presence.
"We needed someone who was an imposing figure," Paul said. "We wanted Dwyane to overcome these obstacles. We needed someone in his position — someone willing to be posterized."
Izzo had a good chuckle when we saw the commercial.
"It was so perfect … I'm sure the guys will get on him about getting dunked on," he said.
Davis would be a likely target for posterization. During his four-year MSU career, the 6-foot-11 center registered 87 blocked shots in 129 games, an average of .67 blocks per game.
As for Joseph? He's on the cover of the Feb. 19 issue of Sports Illustrated, glued to the floor as Texas forward Kevin Durant drives to the basket. Sophomore center Goran Suton and junior center Drew Naymick also appear in the frame, but unlike Joseph, they're not being scored on by Texas' lanky freshman sensation.
"Yeah, I'll just not comment on that," Izzo said, busting up in laughter. "That's been on a lot of the computer tablets up in the office, and a few posters, and there's been a few snide remarks. Let's just leave it at that."
Still, he jokingly wondered why his players have been targeted.
"My guys are getting dunked on!"
