Another Spartan Great is Honored

Coach Izzo’s legs moved forward and back with nervousness. Everyone on the floor looked up in awe, and the 2000 Big Ten Player of the Year shook his head in disbelief as his #42 jersey rose to the rafters of the Breslin Center Saturday night. The students cheered wildly as Peterson walked out of the Spartans’ tunnel with his family in tow, swinging Morris Peterson posters rapidly in the air over their heads. Although this writer was stuck sitting in the very last row of section 231, I still joined my friends in yelling as loud as I could; hoping that in some way, “Mo” could hear me. I think he heard everyone.

 

That was all Mo Pete had to yell and the Breslin Center went crazy. A key player in the Spartans’ 2000 National Championship, Morris Peterson was a star as a player at Michigan State; Saturday night, he was once again the brightest star on the court. This particular star, however, knew that he didn’t reach his height all by himself: Mo made it clear that he couldn’t have made it without the help of those around him. In his emotional remarks about “making it” from unlikely circumstances, he made sure he thanked his mom, his aunts and uncles, his teammates, the fans, and of course; Coach Tom Izzo.

Coach Izzo creates an obvious bond with his players. Mateen Cleaves seems to have had an enormous impact on Izzo’s life: Izzo’s son’s name is Steven Mateen Izzo. But Izzo also seems to have created a strong bond with Peterson as well. In his presser Saturday night, Izzo remarked, “He still calls my wife every Mother’s Day and he comes back every Christmas and every summer.” He also added, “Morris Peterson is probably why I coach.”

 

As I was driving back to Detroit from the game, in the disaster that is Michigan weather, I was struck by an un-welcomed thought: when will we get another jersey-retiring-worthy player? It’s been a while hasn’t it? Kelvin Torbert was supposed to be the “next great one” at Michigan State, but he turned out to be an average-to-good Spartan; no superstar. Shannon Brown left early, and Neitzel started to look like a budding star, but his shooting lapse his senior year nipped his career a bit. So, who’s it going to be? Raymar Morgan? Kalin Lucas? Delvon Roe? Certainly these players have massive amounts of talent, but they have yet to accomplish anything worthy of elite status.

 

The good thing is this: these Spartans remind me a lot of the 2000 National Championship team. Hell, they remind me of the 1978-79 team. They work hard; have a great coach; they have some budding stars, and yet they win games as a team. Time will tell who the next Mo Pete will be; We can only hope he comes from this current squad.