NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Michigan of last decade

2. Cassius Winston – Michigan State

The top spots on this list are reserved for some of Michigan’s legends, and I’m not just talking about the high school level. Winston is a 6’1 point guard from Detroit who found his way to Michigan State, starring under Tom Izzo with the Spartans. He was a four-star recruit with high expectations and he certainly adhered himself to life on campus at Michigan State.

He was not a featured player as a freshman but did have a 21-point, 10-assist effort against Northeastern that teased his potential. A full-time starter his final three seasons, Winston became a critical part of this program. During his junior season, he averaged 18.8 points and 7.5 assists per game, helping to lead the Spartans to the Final Four with multiple fantastic performances. His senior season was shortened by the national pandemic, but he put up similar numbers and helped lead the Spartans to a third straight Big Ten regular season title.

In both his junior and senior seasons, Winston was named a Second Team All-American as well as First Team All-Big Ten. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year and Tournament MVP as a junior and left school as one of the sport’s all-time leaders in assists. He was a high-impact offensive player who was extremely important at Michigan State. He was a late draft pick in 2020 and is currently playing overseas in Europe, with his brightest days seemingly with those Spartans.