Tag: Mateen Cleaves

Tom Izzo lists who he would like to replace him at Michigan State when he retires

Tom Izzo named a few people who he would like to replace him at Michigan State when he eventually retires

This offseason, fresh off a hip replacement surgery, Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo seemed like he found the fountain of youth and made a point to tell the media multiple times that he has no plans to retire anytime soon.

“I got no interest in getting out of it,” Izzo said Monday on the College Hoops Today Podcast, per Fan Duel’s Jon Rothstein. “When I’m done, I’m going to talk to Mateen Cleaves, Steve Smith, Magic Johnson, and Draymond Green. I don’t want to lose the culture that I’ve seen for 40 years as a GA on up. I think it’s being lost somewhat now in college sports. Not just for me, but the players who come back and are a part of things. At least here at Michigan State, it’s important. It may not be that way at other places.”

It would be a little hard to imagine 65-year old billionaire Magic Johnson taking over that job, and it’s also worth noting that Draymond Green said back in July that he doesn’t have any interest in coaching Michigan State. Then again, he could also just be referring to those four as people he will consult with after he retires and not who he actually thinks will directly replace him.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

Mateen Cleaves to send off the Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship trophy in Okemos at end of month

Mateen Cleaves to send off NABC National Championship trophy at Ferris Mowers Okemos at end of month

Every year since 1991, the Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship Trophy is awarded to the team that wins the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. At the end of this month, Michigan State fans will have a chance to go see the beautiful award along with a Spartan legend.

On Saturday, March 26, the trophy will be displayed at the Ferris Mowers dealership (Midwest Power Equipment in Okemos, Michigan). This will be the last chance for fans to see the trophy live and take their picture with it before it heads to New Orleans for Final Four weekend.

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Mateen Cleaves to appear at Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship trophy send off in Okemos at end of month

Mateen Cleaves will be at Midwest Power Supply on March 27th for the Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship trophy send-off.

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The Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship has been on tour for the past two months, and it will make one last stop in Michigan before heading to Indianapolis for the Final Four. The trophy will be showcased in Okemos at Midwest Power Equipment on Saturday, March 27. Michigan State basketball alums and national champions Mateen Cleaves and Steve Cherry will be present at the event.

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From the NABC website:

Each year, the top-ranked team in the season’s final Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll is awarded the coveted Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship Trophy. The one-of-a-kind Waterford Crystal trophy is presented to the Division I National Champion. Each national champion proudly displays the Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship Trophy on campus as a reminder of its place in college basketball history.

The Ferris Mowers NABC National Championship Trophy was first awarded in the 1990-91 season.  Since its inception, the trophy has been produced by the Blackdog Group.  The hand-blown trophy, which is cut and polished in Waterford, Ireland, is individually made and takes three months to create. The base of the trophy is a propriety material, Foxite, made by Bruce Fox, Inc.  The trophy is three pieces: crystal ball, crystal support and base.

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Two Michigan State squads listed in Top-50 NCAA Basketball teams of all time

Two Michigan State teams from the past have been named in the top-50 NCAA teams of all time.

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Michigan State has been able to put together two of the greatest college basketball teams of all time, and now they are getting some recognition for those squads. On Tuesday, SB Nation dropped their Top 50 Men’s NCAA Basketball teams of all time, and MSU had two different units that made the list.

Coming in at No. 42 is the 2000 squad that beat Florida to win the NCAA Championship, led by Mateen Cleaves, Mo Peterson and the Flintstones. That squad has cemented Tom Izzo’s place in the history books.

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The second team is, of course, the 1979 squad that beat Indiana State, led by Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser and coached by Jud Heathcoate. That group of Spartans came in at No. 20.

The Issue:

Here is my biggest complaint about this list: Michigan’s Fab Five team is ranked at No. 20. That’s right, a Michigan squad that never won anything of consequence is ranked ahead of both of MSU’s Championship teams. It really makes no sense and is another example of the Fab Five being glorified despite not winning any titles, which is extremely frustrating to Spartan fans.

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WATCH: Mateen Cleaves has inspiring message for Michigan State Basketball fans, players

Mateen Cleaves spoke directly to Spartan nation on Wednesday following a string of disappointments for Michigan State Basketball.

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“Real Spartans stand tall through it all.”

That is Mateen Cleaves’ message for Michigan State Basketball fans, and players, following another disappointing loss to Purdue on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Cleaves hopped on Twitter to give a message to Spartan nation.

The core of Cleaves message is this: Michigan State has been to many Final Fours, they have won many Big Ten titles, they even won a National Championship, something no other Big Ten school has been able to accomplish since. So, while the team may be struggling this year, real MSU fans shouldn’t get discourage by one bad year.

Watch his message below:

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Twitter Reacts to Michigan State’s upset win over Michigan

MSU pulled off the upset over Michigan and now has Twitter in an uproar, let’s see what people had to say about the win.

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People are still in shock about how Michigan State was able to pull off the upset against Michigan yesterday. Let’s look at some of tweets during and after the Spartans great win over the Wolverines:

Former Football Players

Josh Butler

Jeremy Langford

BJ Cunningham

Greg Jones

Brian Lewerke

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Michigan State Basketball has the most Big Ten Player of the Year winners in conference history

Michigan State players have brought home the Big Ten Player of the Year nine times, more than any other Big Ten school

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The Big Ten Conference started awarding a Player of the Year for basketball back in 1984-85. Since then, a litany of Spartans have received the honor, which has led to Michigan State having the most winners of the award in conference history.

The first Spartan to win the award was Scott Skiles in 1986 and the latest was Cassius Winston in 2019.

Here is the full awards breakdown by team:

  1. Michigan State – 9
  2. Ohio State – 7
  3. Indiana – 6
  4. Michigan – 5
  5. Purdue – 4
  6. Illinois – 3
  7. Wisconsin – 3
  8. Iowa – 1

This list excludes Clem Haskins, who won the award with Minnesota back in 1997 but was forced to vacate the honor. In 1999 and 2000 a Spartan shared the award both years, first with Mateen Cleaves and then with Morris Peterson. Cleaves shared it with Scoonie Penn of Ohio State and Peterson with A.J. Guyton of Indiana.

Mateen Cleaves is one of only two players to have won the award twice.

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Tom Izzo joins host Andy Katz on March Madness 365 Podcast

Michigan State Basketball HC Tom Izzo sat down with host Andy Katz on the March Madness 365 show. Check out this podcast here.

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Michigan State Basketball HC Tom Izzo has put in work during the offseason, landing some of the top recruits in just the past two weeks. He has also joined a number of hosts on podcasts. This time, Izzo joins NCAA.com’s Andy Katz on the March Madness 365 Podcast.

I won’t spoil the entire conversation but trust me, this podcast is a great listen for any die-hard Michigan State Basketball fan. Katz asks Izzo to build his Spartan dream player and the answer is quite a treat. Highly recommend any and all fans check out this interview.

You can listen to the entire episode here.

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Favorite Spartans of All Time round two: Mateen Cleaves region

Vote for your favorite Spartans to move to the Sweet 16 in our bracket.

Hello and welcome to round two of our Favorite Spartans of All Time Tournament. The name is still terrible (and probably changed from the first round) but it’s still a pandemic out there and frankly, you and I have better things to worry about than thinking up a snappy name for this bracket challenge.

We had some upsets in round one, but the chalk held pretty steady across the board. That sets up a ton of big matchups in round two.

Let’s not waste any time and get into voting on the Mateen Cleaves region.

You can vote on the Magic Johnson region here.

You can vote on the Kirk Cousins region here.

You can vote on the Draymond Green region here.

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Favorite Spartans of All Time round two: Draymond Green region

It’s round two of our favorite Spartans ever bracket.

Hello and welcome to round two of our Favorite Spartans of All Time Tournament. The name is still terrible (and probably changed from the first round) but it’s still a pandemic out there and frankly, you and I have better things to worry about than thinking up a snappy name for this bracket challenge.

We had some upsets in round one, but the chalk held pretty steady across the board. That sets up a ton of big matchups in round two.

Let’s not waste any time and get into voting on the Draymond Green region.

You can vote on the Magic Johnson region here.

You can vote on the Kirk Cousins region here.

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