If playing Division 1 college basketball is fun, playing Division 1 basketball with your childhood friend is almost indescribable.
Sports-lovers likely remember playing with their best friend as a kid, perhaps pretending they were playing together at a high level.
There are very few that can actually say they are on the same team with their best friend playing for a storied men’s basketball program, but junior guard Denzel Valentine and junior guard Bryn Forbes are an exception.
The two have been best friends since the age of seven, and with Forbes transferring to MSU in June, the two are playing together once again.
“I’ve known Denzel for about 13, 14 years now, since we were 7,” Forbes said. “A lot of people don’t get a chance to play with one of their best friends that they’ve been playing with since they were 7 years old.”
Forbes and Valentine also played high school basketball together . At J.W. Sexton High School in Lansing, Mich., Valentine and Forbes won back-to-back state championships together, winning the first one in 2011 before claiming the title again in 2012.
Valentine got a bit more national attention coming out of high school. Forbes was a two-star recruiting prospect according to Rivals, while Valentine was ranked as the No. 81 recruit in the nation and a four-star prospect . Initially, the two had to go their separate ways, with Valentine going to MSU and Forbes going to Cleveland State.
Forbes played very well at Cleveland State. In the 2013-14 season, Forbes scored 15.6 points-per-game while converting 2.5 three-pointers per game . Ultimately, Forbes transferred from Cleveland State to MSU and has played in both games after having his hardship waiver cleared during the summer.
“It means a lot (that Bryn Forbes and I are playing together again), I’m happy,” Valentine said. “I’m happy he’s back, I’m glad we have an extra shooter and an extra scorer ... hopefully he can bring that to the court.”
Head coach Tom Izzo and the Spartans will certainly hope that the success that Valentine and Forbes shared together in high school can now translate to the collegiate level.
“They played together in high school (and) I think that means a lot to the team,” freshman forward Marvin Clark Jr. said. “They have that camaraderie already, they have chemistry as far as them playing together.”
