Peterson, the 2000 Big Ten Player of the Year and a first-team All-American that same season, watched his No. 42 jersey be raised to the Breslin Center rafters on Saturday, as he became the ninth player in MSU history to have his jersey retired.

“This is great, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that something like this could happen to me,” Peterson told a crowd of 14,759 prior to MSU’s 63-57 win over Illinois. “When I first got here, you can ask (head coach Tom Izzo), I wasn’t the best athlete, I wasn’t the best student, but one thing I did do was I wanted it.

“I wanted success and I wanted to win a national championship.”

Eventually, Peterson did become a superb athlete and student, but it didn’t come without a price. During his freshman year, Peterson said he “wasn’t doing the things I was supposed to do.” He was missing class, and Izzo threatened to keep Peterson from traveling to Hawaii with the team if he missed one more class. The next day, Peterson awoke at 7:50 a.m. for an 8 a.m. class on the other side of campus, discovering he had set his alarm clock for 7 p.m. instead of 7 a.m.

“When I came into the office I knew I was in trouble,” Peterson said via teleconference on Friday. “Coach held a big meeting and said ‘Morris, you can’t go to Hawaii.’ That really taught me a lesson, so I stayed in the players’ lounge throughout the whole trip and I told myself that when the guys get back I am going to be a changed man. I think I never looked back from there.”

With a new-found dedication and an even stronger will to succeed, Peterson also ended up with a national championship, as he and his fellow “Flintstones” Mateen Cleaves and Charlie Bell beat Florida 89-76 to win the 1999-00 national title.

On their way to the national championship, Peterson was named the Outstanding Player of the NCAA Midwest Regional for the second straight year. He scored 18 points against Iowa State — including an alley-oop dunk from Cleaves with 2:03 remaining to put the Spartans up three — then 20 points in the regional final against Wisconsin, two days after attending his grandmother’s funeral.

Climbing the ladder to cut down the nets following the win over
Florida, Peterson held up a sign that read, “This one’s for you
Grandma.”

“Without you, I wouldn’t be here, I definitely wouldn’t be here,” Peterson told his mother, father, sisters, aunt and uncle, who were on the court with him during Saturday’s ceremony. “You’ve been my back bone, my crutch. We’ve had lots of sleepless nights, but you’ve been there through it all.”

During his five seasons in East Lansing, Peterson’s teams won
three-straight Big Ten Championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles and made two Final Fours. He ranks 10th on MSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,588 points and eighth in both three-pointers made and attempted. He also has played in the fourth-most games as any Spartan.

Despite those numbers and accolades, the team-high 21 points Peterson had that April night in Indianapolis allowed Izzo keep a promise he made to Peterson when he came to the high schooler’s house as fresh-faced head coach who had never coached a Division I basketball game

“Coach Izzo, man coach, I see you, come on up here,” said Peterson before Izzo came and hugged Peterson during the ceremony. “Coach, thank you so much. From day one I always believed everything you said. When you told me I was going to win a national championship, I believed you the day you walked into my living room. You took a chance on me. People say all that I’ve done for this program, but you’ve done more things for this program than I can imagine. Thank you for having me here, I love you.”