NCAA Basketball: Mount Rushmores for the top 25 programs of all-time

Michigan State Basketball Mount Rushmore: Magic Johnson, Mateen Cleaves, Tom Izzo, Scott Skiles

Magic Johnson

Yeah, Magic Johnson is the best player in Michigan State Spartans history and it’s not even close.

Though he only spent two seasons in East Lansing, Johnson was an All-Big Ten performer both years and averaged 17.1 points, 7.9 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game for his career. Johnson led the Spartans to the Elite Eight his freshman season before leading them to their first national championship in 1979, knocking off Larry Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores team in a classic title game.

Obviously, we all know what he went on to do in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers, as he’s regarded as a top-five or top-10 player of all-time.

Mateen Cleaves

Mateen Cleaves is nowhere near as good of a player as Magic, but his play and leadership during Michigan State’s national championship run in 2000 was every bit as special.

A three-time consensus All-American and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year, Cleaves guided the Spartans to back-to-back Final Four appearances in 1999 and 2000, winning the program’s second national championship in the latter. He averaged 12.5 points and 6.6 assists per game for his career but wasn’t able to repeat his success in the professional ranks, as he only played 167 games in the NBA.

Tom Izzo

Tom Izzo has earned his place as one of the greatest coaches of all-time and has long been a legend in East Lansing. While the court is not named after him, the Michigan State student section – affectionately  known as the Izzone – is.

Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, Izzo’s 606 career wins are the most in school history, as are his nine Big Ten regular season titles and eight Final Four appearances. With plenty more years ahead of him, Izzo’s numbers might be untouchable at Michigan State whenever he retires.

Scott Skiles

Scott Skiles is one of the best all-around point guards in Michigan State history. A noted passer, Skiles showed his scoring prowess with 27.4 points to go along with 6.5 assists per game as a senior in 1986. That effort earned him Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus All-American honors.

He is currently in the top-three in program history in points (2,145), assists (645) and steals (175).

Skiles went on to become a high quality NBA player with the Orlando Magic and still holds the league record with a 30-assist game he had in 1990.