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Basketball

BASKETBALL

Point guard position poses questions for Izzo's squad

Brian Beute
November 18, 2003

It'll be the question of the season for the Spartans.Well, maybe second to "Can they win a national championship?"Will the point-guard-by-committee approach suffice for the men's basketball team's postseason powerhouse dreams?Juniors Alan Anderson and Chris Hill, senior Rashi Johnson and freshman Brandon Cotton are members of the quarterback committee."We really have three or four guys that can run the point," sophomore center Paul Davis said.

BASKETBALL

Spartans impress 'Magic'

Jon Styf
November 4, 2003

When Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird met at center court Saturday, it was a meeting of the minds, 25 years after the two played in the 1979 national championship game.But this time, the two met as elder statesmen of the game, discussing everything from LeBron James to MSU's potential NBA prospects and the state of the NBA.While Bird didn't play in the game, he served as the Globetrotters honorary coach, watching the game from the end of the bench next to Johnson."We came in and changed the league," Johnson said.

BASKETBALL

Stars, stripes sting 'U'

Patrick Walters
November 3, 2003

While Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird smiled from the start to finish of the Harlem Globetrotters 97-83 win over MSU, Tom Izzo wasn't amused. The Globetrotters, featuring Johnson along with Bird as the honorary head coach, didn't goof around with the Spartans.

BASKETBALL

'Magic' statue erected at Breslin

Patrick Walters
November 3, 2003

The "Magic" is back in East Lansing - this time, forever. Earvin "Magic" Johnson, former MSU standout and 1979 national champion, unveiled a 12-foot, bronze-cast statue of his likeness Saturday morning in front of hundreds of fans gathered outside the Breslin Center. His trademark smile flashed for cameras outside, but a ceremony preceding the unveiling revealed the life-long Spartan shaking with emotion. "My whole life I wanted to be a Spartan," Johnson said.

BASKETBALL

Ager could steal 'U' spotlight

Paul Day
October 30, 2003

This guy can flat out score. He's a guard with the greatest combination of shooting and athleticism MSU basketball head coach Tom Izzo has recruited during his tenure in East Lansing.

BASKETBALL

Izzo eager for Magic statue dedication

Jon Styf
October 28, 2003

While the focus of life around MSU's campus this weekend will be focused on the Spartans' football game against Michigan, the MSU basketball team will open its exhibition season against the Harlem Globetrotters.The game will take place at 2:30 p.m.

BASKETBALL

Defense starts slowly for hoops team in scrimmage

Patrick Walters
October 27, 2003

Just because the depth issues that hampered the MSU women's basketball team are relatively healed, the defense still appeared to be hurting. At the women's annual Green and White game on Saturday, the Spartans showed off a jelled offense and transition game but gave their scrimmage team opponents sufficient room to shoot from outside. The Spartans wore out their scrimmage team - made mostly of MSU basketball managers - 77-64, but head coach Joanne P.

BASKETBALL

Richardson might start NBA season suspended

Former MSU basketball player Jason Richardson is facing a possible suspension for the beginning of the NBA regular season, league officials announced Monday. Richardson, a forward for the Golden State Warriors entering his third professional season, was convicted on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge Aug.

BASKETBALL

Midnight Madness

Esther Gim
October 20, 2003

Charles Rogers was in attendance. So were Kirk Gibson and the Scarecrow from "The Wizard of Oz." No, wait - that was MSU men's basketball players Andy Harvey, Rashi Johnson and Drew Naymick dressed up as their respective alter egos as they were introduced to the crowd at Breslin Center as part of "A Magical Journey" to officially kick off the men's and women's basketball seasons.

BASKETBALL

Jenison hoops floor on sale, court hosted games in '80s

Patrick Walters
October 17, 2003

It's a safe bet that the MSU basketball teams of the 1980s never could have imagined the floor they were playing on would someday be in an MSU fan's bathroom. But that's exactly what has happened. The hardwood floor that is believed to have played home to MSU basketball teams anytime from 1982 to 1989 at Jenison Field House - the home of Spartans hoops before Breslin Center opened - is now on sale to the public at the MSU Surplus Store. The 4-by-8 pieces of hardwood floor are on sale during the store's regular public sale hours, from 7:30 a.m.

BASKETBALL

Hoopers open season with 'Magical Journey'

Patrick Walters
October 17, 2003

The MSU men's and women's basketball teams officially will open the season tonight at Breslin Center with a "Magical Journey." Fans will watch team introductions, intrasquad scrimmages after midnight, have autograph sessions with coaches and players and watch performances by the MSU cheerleading team, MSU Motion dance team and Sparty. Admission is free and doors open at 10:30 p.m.

BASKETBALL

Junior trio shoots for national championship

Alan Anderson, Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert were getting ready for their respective high school proms when MSU appeared in its last Final Four. The three junior players entered MSU in 2001, two seasons after Mateen Cleaves led the Spartans to the 2000 NCAA National Championship.

BASKETBALL

Brutal nonconference schedule will prepare team for postseason

Patrick Walters
October 15, 2003

A nonconference schedule as difficult as the MSU men's basketball team's this season is giving head coach Tom Izzo and his team two options - do or die.With an updated urgency surrounding the Spartans to win a championship this season - not just games, as Izzo put it - games against heavyweights Duke, Kentucky and Oklahoma within state lines and road trips to Kansas, UCLA and Syracuse are giving MSU a chance to make an early mark as a national title contender.But is it best to play top teams and risk burning out early, or prepare for the best and learn from tough defeats?

BASKETBALL

3-on-3 tourney opens in E.L.

Don Jordan
September 22, 2003

Thousands of hoop enthusiasts flocked to downtown East Lansing this weekend to christen the city's asphalt courts during the city's first 3-on-3 Howard Soifer Memorial Gus Macker Basketball Tournament.Albert Avenue was closed off from Bailey Street to M.A.C.

BASKETBALL

Izzo loses three frontcourt recruits

Patrick Walters
September 19, 2003

MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo can now cross three names off the list of possible recruits for the 2004 season. Grand Ledge junior Al Horford announced his verbal commitment to U-M on Thursday, ending days of speculation that the 6-foot-8, 211-pound forward would commit to the Wolverines.