9903220080
DETROIT FREE PRESS
990322
Monday, March 22, 1999
METRO FINAL
1A
Photo KIRTHMON F. DOZIER
Photo WILLIAM ARCHIE/Detroit Free Press
Antonio Smith and coach Tom Izzo celebrate. "I know we have a great
team to play next," Izzo said, "but I'm going to enjoy this day."
FOLLOWING CUTLINE RAN ON PAGE 6A IN STATE EDITION ONLY:
MSU student Emily Mickelson from Grand Rapids cheers on the Spartans at the
Breslin Center in East Lansing.(WILLIAM ARCHIE)
MITCH ALBOM
Michigan State 73, Kentucky 66
Copyright (c) 1999, Detroit Free Press
FOUR-WARD!
SPARTANS KO 'CATS, REACH FINAL FOUR FOR FIRST TIME SINCE '79
ST. LOUIS -- He threw it like a man who believed things can fly -- balls, dreams, even
underdog teams. Mateen Cleaves, a one-time quarterback, cranked his arm and
heaved the ball almost the length of the floor. It soared over the heads of
all those celebrated Kentucky players, who raced desperately to reach it
before Cleaves' teammate, Andre Hutson.
Sorry, Cats. The ball fell like destiny into Hutson's hands, he bounced it
once, and rose for a rolling lay-in. The Kentucky players broke stride and
gasped, like second-place finishers in a sprint. The Wildcats stared in
disbelief. Something was wrong with their picture, with all the hoop experts'
pictures, and they seemed to go scrambling for the color adjustment knobs.
Forget it, guys. That's the way it's supposed to look: green, not blue.
Cats, scratched.
Guess who just stormed the castle?
Yes, that was Michigan State taking the lead on Hutson's basket with 7:30 left
and never relinquishing it. Yes, that was coach Tom Izzo and senior Antonio
Smith, his first recruit, climbing that ladder, cutting down the last shred of
net, together.
Yes, that was the other college basketball team from Michigan, America. Call
them ugly, call them anonymous, call them blue-collar, muddy, rough, tough or
inglorious. Just don't call them late for the Final Four. Because the
Spartans, on the 20th anniversary of their only championship season, are on
their way to living the dream all over again.
"I can't even describe this feeling!" said Smith, the cocaptain, wearing a
Final Four cap and an unstoppable grin after his team upset the Wildcats,
73-66, to advance to its first Final Four in two decades. "When I came here,
we were a .500 program. And to be here now like this, cutting down the nets,
it's what we've all dreamed about."
What a scene! Played before the largest crowd in the history of regional
finals, more than 42,000 people, this game was a monument to believing in
yourself, your program and your coach. Could there have been two more
different looking teams than the MSU that started this game and the MSU that
finished it? The opening minutes were nervous vaudeville. The closing minutes,
the Spartans could have been posing for a statue of confidence.
For beauty's sake, let's focus on the closing part. It was Morris Peterson at
the free-throw line -- with his mother in the stands tapping her heart with
each shot -- hitting not one, not two, but six straight free throws in the
final 30 seconds to hold Kentucky at bay. It was Cleaves, who never listens to
negative sounds, including the clanging of his own shots, making that great
pass at crunch time, and an ensuing three-pointer, and an ensuing bounce pass
assist to Peterson -- six straight points, due to his skill. It was A.J.
Granger, firing three-pointers with the patience of a watchmaker, pulling his
teammates out of the fire. It was the Spartans' rebounders, grabbing twice as
many boards in the second half as Kentucky.
And it was Izzo, who waited nine years under Jud Heathcote to take over this
program, keeping his guys straight, stroking their confidence, and finally
screaming at the top of his lungs when he made the final snip of the net.
"I know we have a great team to play next," he hollered, "but I'm going to
enjoy this day. I'm going to enjoy this day!"
Cats, scratched.
State of Grace.
A team with heart
Make no mistake, folks. With this victory, the MSU program didn't just take a
leap, it pulled an Evel Knievel, flying over the canyon and landing on the
soft sand of national recognition, international respect, and a toe-to-toe
showdown with Duke, the No. 1 team in the nation, on the next to the last day
of college basketball this season.
Not bad for a Sunday afternoon.
Especially considering how it began. Duke may be the celebrated Goliath of
this tournament, but in many ways, by Sunday, Kentucky was the hardest team to
play. The Wildcats not only carried a storied history and a solid roster, they
had a mission. They were, after all, the defending champions. They have been
to the last three title games. And coming in, they felt that Duke was getting
all the national attention.
So here they came, strutting their legacy, with a Trans World Dome crowd that
was swathed in blue and seemed to number at least 4-to-1 in their favor. I
didn't know St. Louis was in Kentucky, but it was on Sunday. Kentucky and its
crown. Kentucky and its history. Kentucky and its seven national titles. By
game time, the Spartans seemed to be facing Scott Padgett, Wayne Turner and
Tubby Smith but also Jamal Mashburn, Rex Chapman, Dan Issel, Goose Givens,
Cliff Hagan and Adolph Rupp. Every ghost who ever donned a Kentucky blue
uniform was out there on the floor.
Maybe that's why, after the opening seven minutes, it looked as if the
Spartans would need a search party by halftime. Kentucky came out hot and
bold, hitting three-pointers like a kid hits Nerf ball lay-ups. Senior forward
Heshimu Evans was the most stellar, rising for jumpers, slamming in rebounds,
making crisp passes on fast breaks. He scored nine points in less than five
minutes, and it looked as if he might beat the Spartans by himself.
But only because MSU was playing like a calf in a butcher shop. Shots clanged,
passes were dropped.
Next thing you knew, Kentucky led, 17-4.
But these Spartans are defined by their resilience, like an old boot that you
can't believe is still water-tight. Izzo kept shuffling in players until he
found a combination that worked. Granger hit two long three-point shots, which
seemed to give his teammates oxygen. A steal here, a strong rebound there,
more three-pointers, some strong play from Peterson and a typical, last
second, three-point miracle from Cleaves -- his second basket of the half --
sent MSU into the locker room trailing only by a point, 36-35.
"Were we happy to be down by one?" Charlie Bell said. "No way. We were mad
that we had played that badly."
The second half was a different story. The Spartans made a vow to rebound and
defend. They did. They kept it close. And finally, finally -- after seeming to
hit every inch of the rim -- the Spartans started hitting net. They made
lay-ups. They made three-pointers. They would shoot 52 percent in the second
half, which for this team, in this tournament, is like winning the lottery.
And no shot was bigger than Cleaves' football pass to Hutson's lay-up. It
seemed to outrun the Wildcats, outdazzle them and ultimately outdo them. They
would never catch the Spartans again.
"I couldn't believe Mateen threw it," Hutson said.
"Well," Cleaves explained, "even in all my football days, Andre's the biggest
receiver I ever had to throw to . . ."
State of Grace.
Off to Florida
Now, it's true, Duke looms on Saturday. And since Duke's only loss of the
season -- and that seems like 100 years ago -- nobody has stayed with the Blue
Devils yet.
But nobody expected the Spartans to beat Kentucky, either. So enjoy this
moment. This is a huge day for Spartans fans everywhere. It was a snapshot
that said green, without apology. A snapshot of Magic Johnson, in the stands,
and Jud Heathcote, in the stands, and George Perles and Nick Saban, in the
stands. It was the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and cousins
cheering in those stands, all by themselves, even after the place had cleared
out of all those Kentucky fans.
"GO ...GREEN!" they kept chanting. "GO ...GREEN!"
They're going. All the way to St. Petersburg, Fla. This is what they dreamed
about. This is what they've done. It's not a closed book. But it's already got
some great chapters.
"Can you describe how you feel?" Izzo was asked, for about the 100th time, as
the building emptied and the team headed for the bus.
"You know, I can't begin to tell you how I feel except that, other than my
daughter being born, this is the biggest moment of my life."
And then, as if by way of explanation, he said this:
"I'm a Michigan State guy."
It's a pretty good thing to be this morning, isn't it?
To leave a message for Mitch Albom, call 1-313-223-4581 or E-mail
albom@freepress.com
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