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A statistical look at Michigan State basketball, with a dash of football talk

Living in the past

Posted by kj on Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Final Four weekend is upon us. And we Spartans have nothing to do but root against Memphis (or do we suck it up and root for them so we can at least say we lost to the national champions?). So let’s take a trip down memory lane.

One Shining Moment:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeOvgUsRH5w&hl=en]

Nonembeddable highlights of the 2000 championship game:

2000 Championship Game Highlights

Observations:

  • Many find the “One Shining Moment” videos to be too schmalzy. I, for one, make it a point to stay up championship night and lap up the schmalziness every year.
  • Could Charlie Bell rebound or what? You don’t see many off guards box out their man and tip the ball in the way he does early in the highlight clip.
  • Shame the highlights don’t include Mike Chappell’s 3-pointer in the second half after Cleaves left the game. As I recall, that was the key shot of the game for MSU.
  • Is that Ishbia or Cherry who almost scored on the reverse layup as time ran out?
  • As great as the Cleaves storyline was, I always thought Peterson deserved to be the Final Four MVP. In the semifinal game vs. Wisconsin, he scored 20 points on 7-15 FG shooting. The rest of the team scored 33 points on 9-31 shooting. Peterson tacked on another 21 points on 7-14 shooting in the final.
  • Had forgotten how good A.J. Granger was in the final: 19 points on 3-5 three-point shooting and 9 rebounds.
  • Some things never change: the Wisconsin roster was composed entirely of role players who knew how to play together then as it is now. I don’t even remember who Roy Boone (18 points) was.
  • The 2000 team was the very model of a team that could win in different kinds of games. 57 possessions in the win over Wisconsin vs. 69 possessions in the win over Florida. (Note: They turned it over 14 times in both games [24.6%/20.3%]. Maybe turnovers have always been a byproduct of the Izzo system. We’ll have to look into this further.)

Feel free to use the comments section to discuss this weekend’s games, reminisce about other great NCAA Tournament moments in Spartan history, compare schedule for planting flowers in your front lawn, etc.

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Filed in michigan state basketball8 responses so far

8 Responses to “Living in the past”

  1. huberton 05 Apr 2008 at 7:53 pm 1

    I watched the 2000 final on ESPN classic. Like you, I was struck by the Granger’s great game, by Peterson’s fantastic second half, by Bell’s tough mindedness, particularly on the boards, and by the number of turnovers. Several other things you don’t mention.

    1. A really long team — lots of height, despite the lack of a real center.

    2. A very talented team, with 4 NBA players, and another 4 or 5 guys who made a living playing ball overseas. How many NBA players do you think there are on the team this year? I’d say one, maybe.

    3. Very good to great ball handling team. Izzo had Peterson and Hutson dribbling to break the press.

    4. As I said in my last post, incredible authority and control exercised by Cleaves. We forget what a great college player he was.

    5. How little Izzo’s basic offense has changed, with a lot of the same sets, albeit with different kinks. but this team’s execution seemed more precise and quicker than recent teams.

    As for this weekend’s game, my prediction: Memphis over UNC in a tight game.

  2. kjon 05 Apr 2008 at 9:01 pm 2

    Great observations, Hubert. I’d say Morgan, Lucas, and Suton all have a chance to play in the NBA, but none is a slam dunk at this point.

    As much as we’ve all been waiting for the next Cleaves (and maybe Lucas is the guy), it’s finding the next Bell and Peterson that may be the real key. These were two guys that didn’t come in as big-time recruits but developed into well-rounded, All-American-level players.

    How about Kansas coming out and putting the hurt on UNC? 40-12 before North Carolina bounced back in the last few minutes of the half. Small consolation for us: We’re not the only nationally-respected program to come out looking completely overmatched in a big tournament game.

  3. Spartalyticalon 06 Apr 2008 at 6:21 am 3

    Aside from the breath of fresh air that was Davidson through the first four rounds, this tournament has been awful. Blowout wins everywhere, very little competition. I looked forward to seeing Drake make a run after their breakout year, so it was unfortunate to see them lose in the opening round (ironically, the shot that beat them was, in my opinion, the best moment of the tournament thus far). Even last night, after all the hype over the first Final Four full of #1 seeds, we get to watch to boring blowouts.

    Finally, I cannot bring myself to suck it up and back Memphis for the championship. With each game I see of theirs, I’m more of a believer and have resigned to believing they belong in the top tier of teams this season. But their utter lack of class makes me sick each time there’s a camera anywhere near. It killed me seeing Ben Howland interview after the game with his heart in the toilet after losing his third straight national semifinal with nothing but humble praise for the Tigers, masked by his own disappointment, all followed up by Calipari cockily proclaiming, once again, that they have a legitimate “dream team” that essentially can’t be stopped. Derrick Rose is an amazing player that hit all sorts of circus shots last night and made huge plays, but I can’t stand to hear him talk. Joey Dorsey is a certified ass. Robert Dozier is a punk. I actually enjoy watching Anderson, Douglas-Roberts, Taggart, and whoever the big dude is who makes DeAndre Thomas look tiny. But I just can’t get generally excited about these kids who even stiffed Billy Packer for a handshake right after he gushed to them over their NCAA record 38th win last night.

  4. Danon 06 Apr 2008 at 3:33 pm 4

    I guess I’m happy about North Carolina getting their tails handed to them (I’ve hated them ever since the Sean May “elbow, elbow, hey where’d those guys guarding me go, DUNK!” move was apparently legalized in both games of the ‘05 Final Four), but now I have to root for a Kansas team that, by all probability, should have choked their way out by now (they’ve tried at least twice – UNC got within 5 after that horrendous start, and Davidson hung in there until the buzzer – and failed). I can’t stand Memphis (for the same reasons Spartalytical just stated).

    Good news is, I think every champ in the 64-team era has won their first two games by double digits. If that trend continues, Kansas is the champ.

  5. DMPon 07 Apr 2008 at 2:38 pm 5

    Do we focus too much on the 2000 team? We do we need the impression that every team at State falls below the championship level if they do not emulate the 2000 team? Izzo has admitted that he sometimes doesn’t appreciate the teams he has until some time after their gone. the 2005 never go much appreciation, with one inexperienced ball handler and Hill and company trying their best as non-natural handlers. Can’t we appreciate that team’f Final Four loss, with Anderson hurt, bad calls and all? How is this fun for the current players to be constantly compared to a team almost 10 years old?

    I think lists like the one in the other post are overrated because in basketball one or two players can make all the difference between good and great. How would Memphis, KSU, OSU, IU etc looked like in that list 3 years ago? The Michigan pool of players appears to be cycling up, just as the pool of Ohio players cycled up 3-4 years ago.

    Sorry for the long post again. Morgan will have to improve his jump shooting and dribbvling dramatically to make the NBA.

  6. DMPon 07 Apr 2008 at 2:38 pm 6

    I guess it wasn’t that long…

  7. kjon 08 Apr 2008 at 8:21 am 7

    DMP, I think you’re right that we focus too much on the 2000 team. As I commented earlier this year, if that teams is the standard for “toughness,” no Spartan team will ever measure up.

    The challenge now is for Izzo to build a championship contender with its own identity and style. Maybe, just maybe, next year’s team can be a step in that direction with Lucas running the show.

  8. Tmanon 08 Apr 2008 at 9:40 pm 8

    DMP, KJ….you echo my sentiments exactly! MSU, get over it, it was 8 years ago and time to move on…….My fear is that 21 years from now we will be talking about the “last championship” season of 2000 (like we had to endure from ‘79 to ‘00).

    It is time for all of MSU fans to realize that every year is a new year, in which the team has a different make up, different leadership on the court and different challenges….however, the goal is the same: to “just win baby” and win championships at that!

    IZZO: ‘00 was great, but the drought has been too long….wake up and let’s get this program rolling again….take note of the comment from HUBERT that the ‘00 team was “long”, “fast” and “great ball handling skills”…..does this sound familiar (i.e. Kansas, UNC, MEMPHIS and UCLA this year!?!?) All three abilities of which MSU lacked this year……some things and some formulas for success never change…….WE NEED A TALL, FAST and GREAT BALL HANDLING TEAM IF WE ARE EVER TO WIN ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP OF ANY KIND!!!!! Lucas, while fast, is not tall; Morgan, while tall, is not a great ball handler,…..Suton, while tall, is not fast….get the picture?!?!?!?

    I believe while next year could be very interesting with a young team and a fast Lucas, the lack of size and ball handling ability could eventually do them in……only next season will tell and here’s to hope….