Parker’s announcement means MSU’s 2013 recruiting class still is without any committed players, and it’s possible the Spartans might not bring in any new recruits next season for the first time in head coach Tom Izzo’s tenure. This shouldn’t be a cause for panic among MSU basketball fans.
Standing in front of his friends, family and a large television audience at Chicago Simeon High, the 6-foot-8 small forward Jabari Parker announced his intentions to attend Duke following a long recruiting process.
The MSU women’s basketball team didn’t need help from lady luck Wednesday night in Las Vegas in its first game of the 2012 South Point Holiday Hoops Classic, cruising to a 49-35 win over Oregon State. In Suzy Merchant’s 500th career game as a head coach, the Spartans (10-1 overall) never trailed Oregon State (6-5) at any point in the contest.
After taking the then-No. 5 MSU men’s basketball team into Bowling Green and losing more than 20 years ago, head coach Jud Heathcote vowed he would not return to Anderson Arena, now called the Stroh Center.
“It’s a big week,” Nix said. “We ain’t got no more cupcakes. Let the party start.”
Kiana Johnson had spent exactly three months dreaming of this day, but when she finally awoke, she almost hit the snooze button. “I woke up at like 7 (AM) and I was going to go back to sleep for 10 minutes, and I’m like ‘what am I doing?
The Spartans went 41.4 percent from the floor and 86.7 percent from the free throw line as they led 40-11 at the end of the first half, but the second half was a different story, as MSU was outscored by the Mastodons 25-24.
The MSU women’s basketball team (9-1) seemed right at home in their return to Jenison Field House, pummeling IPFW (3-7) 64-36 Sunday afternoon.
The game was played in Jenison Field House to commemorate the “Game of Change” nearly 50 years ago, when the stadium hosted an NCAA Tournament game between Loyola-Chicago and Mississippi State, in which Mississippi State had to sneak out of its state to play an integrated basketball game during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
It was a night of historic moments that certainly wasn’t lost on head coach Tom Izzo, who imparted the lessons taken away from the positives of such a cultural shift in American history.
In the first game at Jenison Field House in more than two decades, the No. 19 MSU men’s basketball team overcame an ugly first half to defeat Division II Tuskegee 92-56.
The Commodores had come and gone, the new lights were shining bright and an electric crowd had found some unusual seats.
When Keith Appling thinks of Jenison Field House, three people come to mind: Jud Heathcote, Magic Johnson and Gregory Kelser.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Matteen Cleaves held the ball in his hands, making sure he left Magic Johnson’s old stomping grounds in the same manner the Flintstone did the last time he wore Spartan green: victoriously.
It’s been 12 years since Mateen Cleaves made his one shining moment for the MSU basketball program.
After men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo spent most of his weekly press conference sharing his excitement about the return of his mentor this weekend, an accident has resulted in a change of plans.
The No. 19 MSU men’s basketball team (8-2) overcame foul trouble to both of its point guards to knock off a relentless Loyola-Chicago (6-3) 73-61 Saturday afternoon, behind a career-high 20 points from freshman guard Gary Harris.
The MSU women’s basketball team’s winning streak came to an end as they lost to No. 19 Dayton 60-53 Saturday afternoon.
Three hours before Saturday’s game against Loyola-Chicago, Gary Harris was ready. Setting his feet, checking his mechanics and firing shot after shot at the rims of Breslin Center, Harris wanted to be comfortable playing for the first time since his Nov. 20 shoulder injury without his shoulder brace.
After a first half that saw the No. 19 MSU basketball team head into the locker room trailing Loyola-Chicago, it seemed the Spartans were in line for another lackluster performance against a non-conference opponent. However, there was nothing lackluster about what Gary Harris had in mind Saturday at Breslin Center.