College basketball’s All-time Starting Five: Michigan State Spartans
With March Madness right around the corner, The Dagger is picking an all-time starting five from some of college basketball’s most tradition-rich programs.
Our picks were based on a variety of factors, including stats, tourney success, All-America selections, and of course, our opinions.
Next up: Michigan State Spartans.
Who was considered from Michigan State:
1. Magic Johnson G, 1977-79 (17.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 7.9 apg)
2. Mateen Cleaves G, 1996-2000 (12.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 6.6 apg)
3. Scott Skiles G, 1982-86 (18.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.5 apg)
4. Steve Smith G, 1987-91 (18.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.7 apg)
5. Greg Kelser F, 1975-79 (17.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg)
6. Shawn Respert G, 1990-95 (21.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.5 apg)
7. Johnny Green C, 1956-59 (16.9 ppg, 16.4 rpg)
8. Mike Robinson G, 1971-74 (24.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
9. Mo Peterson F, 1995-2000 (11.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
10. Draymond Green F, 2008-12 (10.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg)
• Feb. 10: Arizona
• Feb. 12: Georgetown
• Feb. 17: Louisville
• Feb. 19: UConn (women)
• Feb. 22: Indiana
• Feb. 24: Syracuse
• Feb. 26: Michigan St.
• Feb. 29: Kentucky
• March 2: UCLA
• March 4: UConn (men)
• March 7: Duke
• March 9: UNC
• March 11: Kansas
Michigan State’s All-Time Starting Five
G — Magic Johnson
The MVP of the 1979 Final Four, Johnson led Michigan State to its first national title while consistently flirting with a triple-double in points, rebounds and assists, and also leading the team in steals. He is the only Michigan State freshman to earn All-America status and was a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore when the Spartans won the title.
G — Mateen Cleaves
The only player in school history to be a consensus All-American three times, including the first-team as a junior. He led the Spartans to the 2000 national championship and was the focal point on three consecutive Big Ten championship teams, scoring when he had to but also serving as the catalyst for the offense.
G — Scott Skiles
No one in Michigan State history has had a better season offensively than Skiles put together as a senior when he averaged more than 27 points, dished more than six assists a game and finished as the Big Ten player of the year. Skiles actually increased his scoring average to 29 points a game in conference games when the competition was consistently better.
F — Greg Kelser
He was the first player to score more than 2,000 points and grab more than 1,000 rebounds in a career at Michigan State. Kelser was the leading scorer and rebounder on the 1979 national title team. He also became the first Spartan player to become an All-American in two ways, on the court and academically.
F — Draymond Green
He averaged a double-double in scoring and rebounding in 2012 when he was named consensus first-team All-American. He led the Spartans to regular season and Big Ten tournament titles and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He was the Big Ten Defensive player of the year as well.
Toughest omissions: Johnny Green certainly has the numbers to suggest he should be a starting big man for the Spartans but he was only 6-foot-5 and would make an already undersized starting five even smaller. Shawn Respert was a consensus All-American as a senior and is the Spartans’ all-time leading scorer. Prior to Respert taking over the top scoring spot in the Spartans’ record book, Steve Smith was the program’s all-time leading scorer. Both were considered but ultimately didn’t make the cut.
That’s who we’re taking. Who’s in your Michigan State all-time starting five?
