MSU senior forward Matt Costello wasn’t expected to be much of a factor in the MSU men’s basketball game against Maryland.
In fact, he hadn’t even practiced since suffering a bad ankle sprain in a loss to Nebraska three days prior.
However, as he hobbled onto the court that night, little did anyone know he was about to turn in the grittiest performance of his career — a rock-solid 15 points and 12 rebounds, which helped MSU to a much needed victory, 74-65.
In the game’s waning moments, as Costello checked out to a crowd chanting his name, he walked up to head coach Tom Izzo, picked him up and twirled him around with a huge bear hug, an emotional moment that quickly went viral across the Internet.
Yeah, it's safe to say @MSU_Basketball players love their legendary coach. Such a great moment! https://t.co/49x53hU4aX
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 24, 2016
It wasn’t the first time a celebration from Costello went viral. In a victory against Florida on Dec. 12, 2015, it was a goofy high-stepping, head-bobbing dance move, which gave Costello the spotlight he doesn’t otherwise command.
“It was weird,” Costello said after the Florida game. “I can’t even describe it. I hope to never do it again.”
Maybe it’s true to say Costello has never been a superstar at MSU, but Costello has been as reliable as they get, averaging 9.8 points and 8.1 rebounds a game during his senior year. And for a guy who doesn’t blow people away with his athleticism, Costello needs 14 more blocks to leave as MSU’s all-time leader.
However, to think of Costello in terms of basketball stats and goofy celebrations would almost be to do him a disservice.
Because beyond that, there’s also Matt Costello, MSU basketball’s ultimate good guy.
Becoming a basketball star
For a majority of his early childhood, Costello and his family did a lot of moving around. Born in Michigan, the Costellos moved to Kentucky for a stretch of the early 2000s, before moving back to Michigan and eventually settling in Linwood, a small town north of Bay City. There, Costello blossomed into one of the best high school basketball players in the country.
By the time Costello was a senior at Bay City Western High School, the 6-foot-9 big man won the 2012 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball award, averaging 25.1 points, 19.1 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks a game, leading his team to a 18-6 record and second-straight district championship.
“In anything that he did, he really did put great effort into it,” Chris Watz, Costello’s high school basketball coach, said. “He was always focused, set goals and worked hard to achieve them. ... He was given some gifts and he realized that and put the hard work into it to make himself as good as he could.”
It wasn’t long before several college coaches began to take notice of some of Costello’s gifts. Of those coaches was Izzo, who offered Costello a scholarship to come play for him.
For Costello, it didn’t take long to decide. He would head to East Lansing to become a Spartan.
Finding himself
When Costello arrived on campus in 2012, it was an exciting time for him. He was making contributions to one of the best college basketball programs in the country.
However, as he maneuvered his way through his freshman year, something was missing. Growing up, faith had always been an important part of Costello’s life and he had always been heavily involved in the youth group at his church.
“It was a lot tougher because I didn’t have the support system I had back at home,” Costello said. “I had a youth group back at home. I had my parents. Here, just kind of going into a new situation and a liberal college with not many boundaries, it was a lot easier to get into trouble and things like that. It took me a little bit to find a group of people that helped and supported me like in high school.”
Eventually Costello got involved with the MSU division of Athletes in Action, a group where Christian athletes “use sports as a platform to help people answer questions of faith and to point them to Jesus.”
Costello also said it’s helped him to flourish through having roommates who come from similar backgrounds, such as former teammate and roommate Travis Trice, or his roommates of this year — MSU football player Josiah Price, basketball teammate Matt Van Dyk and cross country and track and field runner Ryan Haag.
And it was through Price that Costello met Jonathan Saunders, the director of the Spartan Christian Fellowship, a campus ministry group at MSU.
“I first met Matt at church,” Saunders said. “Josiah Price had told me that Matt was interested in growing spiritually so when I saw Matt at our church I quickly went up and introduced myself.”
Throughout the last couple of years, Saunders said he has gotten to know Costello through a weekly bible study he conducts with him and his roommates.
In addition to this, Saunders said he and his wife have been conducting Costello’s premarital counseling — Costello is engaged — and there was even a time when Costello threw a birthday party at Breslin Center for one of Saunders’ sons.
“Matt is as genuine and down to earth as any guy I have known,” Saunders said.
It was also through SCF that Costello and Trice did a speaking engagement, where they shared their message that while being an athlete at MSU is an honor, it’s more of an honor to be called a Christian.
“I just live my life how I think God would want me to,” Costello said. “He just wants me to live my life and be an example to people that they can look up to.”
Team player
MSU had just defeated a Kansas in the Champions Classic, 79-73, and MSU’s locker room was going nuts about the 29 point, 12 rebound, 12 assist game senior guard Denzel Valentine had just had.
Costello was no exception. It meant a lot for him to see Valentine succeed at that high of a level. The two of them came in as freshmen in the fall of 2012 and have played in more big games than any other players in the country.
Entering this season, having already made several deep NCAA Tournament runs — a Sweet Sixteen, an Elite Eight and a Final Four, Costello and Valentine have made this year’s goals clear.
“We’ve got to push for something more because that feeling of just getting there wasn’t enough,” Costello said at the beginning of the season. “We want to finish the job this year.”
Costello entered his senior year after a junior campaign that featured career bests in nearly every statistical category, and being one of the more experienced members of this year’s team, that would generally mean more playing time.
However, with promising freshman Deyonta Davis thrown into the mix, it was clear Costello would be competing for minutes. But it’s what Costello did in response to this that impressed Izzo.
“He has done for (Davis) like (Goran) Suton did for (Draymond Green) and Delvon Roe,” Izzo said. “He has just kind of taken him under his wing. Every day he helps explains things. ... I tell DD everyday, you’re lucky. You’re lucky because you’re having guys help you and you’re taking some of their minutes.”
Costello doesn’t feel he’s been owed anything, though, and being the leader and captain he is, feels taking Davis under his wing is the least he could do.
“I understand that (Davis) is a very talented player and so I want this team to win,” Costello said. “That’s my number one goal and he’s going to be a top 15 draft pick, whether it’s this year or next year, whenever anybody takes him. So I’ve got to do my best to mentor him and get what I can along the way.”
It’s not just through the game of basketball that Costello’s helpfulness is evident. Off the court, Trice said Costello is as genuine as it gets, and that’s what makes him special.
“Matt’s one of those guys, when he says something ... he truly means it,” Trice said. “If I had a rough game, I’d come back to the apartment and he’d check on me and see how I’m doing. It’s all genuine.”
But for Costello, no matter what accomplishments MSU may achieve this season, the focus is still on one.
“It’s huge,” Costello said after MSU defeated Oakland on Dec. 22, 2015 to improve to a school-best record start of 13-0. “But again, it doesn’t matter until April.”
For MSU’s sake, April will be as good a time as any for Costello to break out some new celebrations.
