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Center adjusts to life in U.S. as a Spartan
Walk-ons for the men’s basketball team usually help the team by competing hard against the scholarship athletes in practice.
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Top guard verbally commits to U
The best guard of the 2003-04 recruiting class has verbally committed to MSU. “I think I made a choice my parents like, I like and even my little brother liked,” said Shannon Brown, of Proviso East High in Maywood, Ill.
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Hill named to Wooden Award team
MSU sophomore guard Chris Hill was named to the Wooden Award Preseason All-American Team. As one of the 50 selections, Hill is a candidate for the John R.
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Spartans schedule filled with tradition
Once again MSU head coach Tom Izzo has ensured a nonconference schedule that will force the men’s basketball team to prove themselves. “I think we’ve done a good job of putting together a very difficult schedule,” Izzo said in a statement.
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Hill joins Big Ten Foreign Tour, ready to showcase new skills
Sophomore guard Chris Hill was selected to play with the Big Ten Foreign Tour Team. Hill and 11 other Big Ten players will travel to Europe to compete in five games Aug.
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Spartans, Cavaliers set for rematch in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Neither team walked away victorious the last time the MSU men’s basketball team and Virginia took the court.
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Former U star goes late in draft
After watching the 2002 NBA Draft for more than three hours and seeing 10 point guards selected, Marcus Taylor was finally taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 52nd pick. The 6-foot-3 guard is the third underclassmen the MSU men’s basketball team has lost to the NBA in the last two years and the 51st Spartan to be drafted.
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NBA draft to determine Taylors fate
Judgment day has arrived for NBA Draft hopefuls.Only 57 aspirants will hear their names called tonight in the 2002 NBA Draft at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
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Taylor fails to impress, but remains confident
After competing with 65 professional hopefuls at the Chicago predraft camp June 4-7, Marcus Taylor will soon cement his decision to leave MSU.The guard said he plans to return home Tuesday and sign with an agent before leaving to work out with the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.Hiring an agent would end any dreams that Spartan fans have for Taylor to don the green and white for MSU next season.While in Chicago, Taylor said he was focused on displaying the skills that allowed him to lead the Big Ten in scoring and assists.
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Its official: Taylor will not play for U again
Marcus Taylor has no intention of returning to MSU next season.In a press conference Wednesday night, Taylor apologized for misleading Spartan fans and made it clear he intends to be drafted in the 2002 NBA Draft on June 26.“I’ve been working my whole life to get to this point, where I’d be able to put my name in the draft with confidence,” Taylor said.
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Students appreciate Johnsons committment to U community
Earvin “Magic” Johnson changed the way professional basketball is played and he is now almost guaranteed a place in basketball’s hallowed walls. Johnson, who played 13 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, was one of 14 players, coaches and teams nominated Wednesday for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. During his two-year career at MSU, Johnson put up record numbers.
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Spartans look for help in 6-foot-10 Slovenian
With one scholarship to fill for next year’s team, the MSU men’s basketball team is looking abroad to snag their last recruit. Last week, staff from MSU made a trip to Europe to look at 6-foot-10 center Erazem Lorbek.
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Detroit Pistons: Just not worthy
You have to love the NBA Playoffs. Right off the bat, you get two weeks worth of five-game first-round matchups, full of 83-63 nail-biters.
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Garland interviews for head coach job
Just a week after one piece of the Spartan men’s basketball coaching staff decided to stay put, another assistant soon might be leaving the MSU sidelines.MSU assistant coach Mike Garland will interview for the head coaching job at Wisconsin-Green Bay today, Wisconsin-Green Bay Sports Information Director Brian Nicol said.Garland, a teammate of MSU head coach Tom Izzo at Northern Michigan, has spent six seasons as an assistant on the Spartan bench.
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U splits weekend series with Hoosiers
With a win Sunday, the MSU baseball team salvaged a split in its four-game series with Big Ten leader Indiana at Kobs Field.The Spartans (22-8 overall, 6-5 Big Ten) started slow Sunday, but outlasted the Hoosiers (26-8, 8-4) 10-6.
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Top recruit agrees to go green
The MSU basketball team received its first verbal commitment in a top 25 recruit for its 2003 recruiting class.Detroit DePorres junior point guard Brandon Cotton, widely considered a top prospect, told Spartan head coach Tom Izzo Monday that the two-year starter plans to don the green and white.Cotton said Izzo was the deciding factor in choosing MSU.“Coach Izzo wins a lot and produces good players,” Cotton said Monday night.
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Pull of pro ball causes coaches to rethink recruiting
The Illinois men’s basketball program and its fans knew it would happen sooner or later. Illini guard Frank Williams would leave early for the NBA - it was just a matter of when.
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Young and restless
When Kelvin Torbert, Alan Anderson and Chris Hill became MSU’s 2001 recruiting class, another Big Ten title and another trip deep into the NCAA Tournament seemed within reach, if not certain. Sure, the Spartans would lose five seniors, but the trio of recruits would help ease the blow. Torbert, an electrifying scorer, was the 2001 Sporting News Player of the Year, Michigan’s Mr. Basketball and Flint’s second all-time leading scorer - behind ex-Spartan Charlie Bell - with his 1,978 career points at Flint Northwestern High. Anderson, a silky and versatile slasher, rated the No.
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Mid-major teams hang together, make impact
A Saluki is defined as an ancient breed of dog with a keen sense of vision used in hunting. A Southern Illinois Saluki is an ancient breed of basketball player, using its maturity and experience in the NCAA Tournament to knock off some of the biggest names in college coaching. The sixth-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders and head coach Bobby Knight fell prey to the mighty Salukis in the first round of the tournament.
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Indiana represents Big Ten pride, but Terrapins will be champions
I have to admit, I am an Indiana Hoosier Basketball fan. For my money, it doesn’t get any better when Tom Coverdale hits a triple from the top of the arc and limps, on his bum ankle, to the other end of the court to play defense.