NCAA Basketball: Top 10 programs that can be called ‘Point Guard U’
By Amaar Burton
1. Michigan State
North Carolina may have a longer list of memorable point guards, but Michigan State’s point guards have largely defined their program. If you made a list of MSU’s greatest players, three or even four of the top five could be point guards.
Plus, the Spartans have the game’s greatest point guard of all time on their side.
Just like North Carolina can always make a valid “SGU” claim because they once had the greatest shooting guard in basketball history at their school (Michael Jordan), Michigan State can always call itself “PGU” because they had Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
In 1979, Magic brought the Spartans their first national championship as a sophomore. He put up 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the national title game against Larry Bird’s Indiana State team. It is still the most famous and most-watched single game in college hoops history.
Magic averaged 17.1 points, 7. 6 rebounds and 7.9 assists in two seasons at Michigan State before he took his box-office appeal and proceeded to save the floundering NBA while bringing five championships to the Los Angeles Lakers.
No Michigan State point guard has lived up to the Magic standard since then, but a lot of them have been great in their own right.
Mateen Cleaves led the Spartans’ second national championship team in 2000. Cleaves won the Final Four MOP as he and “The Flintstones” — the core of the MSU team hailing from nearby Flint, Mich. — won it all for coach Tom Izzo.
Cleaves’ college career also included two Big Ten Player of the Year awards, three All-American selections, a Big Ten tournament MVP, and averages of 12.5 points and 6.6 assists per game.
Cassius Winston’s college career was unfortunately ended early by the COVID-19 pandemic in a year when the senior point guard had a legitimate shot to lead Michigan State to a 2020 national title.
Like Cleaves, Winston also earned Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten tournament MVP and All-American accolades over four seasons, averaging 14.2 points and 6.4 assists per game. This past season he passed Cleaves as the Big Ten’s all-time leader in assists.
Former Big Ten POY and All-American point guard Scott Skiles set his own assist record after leaving Michigan State. In 1990, while playing for the Orlando Magic, Skiles handed out 30 assists to set the NBA’s single-game record.
In college, Skiles was more of a scorer than a playmaker. He averaged 27.4 points to go with 6.5 assists per game in his senior year at Michigan State and finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Other notables: Eric Snow, Kalin Lucas, Sam Vincent, Drew Neitzel, Travis Walton
Magic, Cleaves, Winston and Skiles are arguably four of Michigan State’s five greatest players in history, with Magic being the indisputable No. 1 face of the program. The school’s two national championship teams were led by star point guards.
In the NBA, Michigan State’s point guards have won championships, set records, won league MVPs and earned All-NBA, All-Star and All-Defensive honors.
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From the 1970s to the 2020s, the school has consistently produced not just great point guards, but also winning point guards.
That is why Michigan State is the true Point Guard U.