If spending a beautiful fall afternoon outside covering women’s soccer, or putting my thoughts into the newspaper about a variety of topics wasn’t enough, Thursday solidified my thought that sports writers have the best job in the world.

I spent the afternoon at the MSU men’s basketball practice, surrounded by players, coaches and other media members — but this wasn’t like any other practice. This was media practice, where the media (me) received the privilege of having four-time National Coach of the Year Tom Izzo yell at us on the hardwood.

I arrived at the auxiliary gym in Breslin Center around 1:30 p.m., signed my waiver form and picked up my shorts, shirt and jersey. After shooting around with the likes of Bill Simonson from The Huge Show and The Associated Press’ Larry Lage, we were summoned to the video room where Coach Izzo ran us through what we were going to do in that day’s practice.

We went back onto the court and began with stretching, and later moved into layup, shooting and dribbling drills. There were some laughs, of course, but at one point we were so slow moving to our next drill that Izzo blew his whistle and made us get on the line: It was wind sprint time. After a quick free throw line, back, half court, back sprint, we ran back to our baskets ready to do it better this time.

After some team defense and a quick rundown of plays, it was time to scrimmage, as the print media faced off against the other media members for bragging rights. It was no contest as we used the fast break to our advantage, and with the coaching expertise of Goran Sutton, Drew Neitzel, Drew Naymick and Marquise Gray, we left the court with the W.

With practice over, it was back to the video room for Coach Izzo to analyze the day, and though it’s safe to say there weren’t any scholarships handed out, he did come away impressed — admittedly, his expectations weren’t very high. We had a post-practice meal, courtesy of Troppo, and finished watching the scrimmage as our day as MSU basketball players came to an end.

As I walked out of Breslin Center, it was impossible not to have a smile on my face and a sense of pride to see the Spartans in a setting like that.

In as many press conferences as I can remember, people always welcome a new coach or a player to the (insert team name) family, but in the Spartans’ case, they really are a family.

From Izzo’s wife Lupe and his son Steven being there to joking around with the media, it was easy to see how he built MSU basketball into the program that is today.

Personally, I’ll never forget that experience Thursday. Sitting in the video room and having Izzo high-fiving and jumping around with the players was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill.

The idea was conceived by MSU’s Office of Sports Information, but for Izzo to take the time and go along with it was a sign of the kind of guy he is.

Though there were many great moments, my personal highlight came after I shot a free throw. I held up my finish until I heard the “swoosh” of the net, and Coach Izzo walked up to me and slapped me on the butt. “Good shot,” he said.

Hey, I may not shoot like Reggie Miller, but if Tom Izzo says “good shot,” I’m satisfied.

But in all seriousness, Coach, if you’re reading this, I’ll keep my J in tip-top shape, so if you ever need another player, look me up.

Cash Kruth can be reached at kruthcas@msu.edu.