Steely Spartans return to Final Four as favorites
By Pat Forde
Special to ESPN.com
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Amid the chaos, there is an island of order. It is the Michigan State Spartans, the lone No. 1 seed still playing ball in this riotous NCAA Tournament, survivor of
two fierce battles on semi-home turf and now positioned as the undeniable favorite to snip the RCA
Dome's nets.
Winning the Midwest Regional at the partisan Palace in the manner they did -- with steely
comebacks against Syracuse in the semifinals and rugged Iowa State in a classic final -- again
showcased the Spartans as the national leader in toughness.
|  | | Mateen Cleaves and Michigan State are going back to the Final Four. |
"They reached down and found something," coach Tom Izzo said after Michigan State's 75-64 win over the Cyclones.
In particular, it was another testament to the hardiness of the Flintstones, the redoubtable
trio of Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and Charlie Bell. The hard-edged ballers from gritty
Flint, Mich. -- not to mention honorary Flintstone A.J. Granger, an expatriate Ohioan -- have
carried Michigan State to a second straight Final Four.
And they are now positioned to eclipse the Fab Five in terms of legacy left on college basketball in their state.
Michigan's Fab Five of the early 1990s left an indelible stylistic imprint on the game, with
billowing shorts, shaved heads and towering bravado. They redefined hoop cool for a
entire generation of young players.
But the Flintstones, while not candidates for canonization, are more of what the college game
needs: straight-up effort, all about camaraderie and hopelessly in love with the college
game.
They're four-year guys, not crass opportunists looking for the quick jump to an NBA paycheck. (In fairness, they also don't possess the talent to bail out as early, as Chris Webber,
Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose did at Michigan. That makes a difference.)
"I'm trying to cherish every minute I have left of this college life," Cleaves said last week.
They will leave longer coattails than the Fab Five did. What has Michigan basketball done since the Fab Five flew the coop? The Wolverines' lone NCAA Tournament victory since 1994 was over Davidson in '98. They haven't made the field of 64 the past two years.
Worse, the Fab Five legacy was almost poisonous to the group that followed. The all-star
crew the Wolves recruited in 1994 -- Maurice Taylor, Jerod Ward, Maceo Baston, et al.,
billed as Fab Five II -- was a bust, like they believed the hype before proving a thing.
The Flintstones, by contrast, have paved a gilded path into the next millennium. Recruits
are now flocking to Michigan State: McDonald's All-Americans Marcus Taylor of hometown Lansing and Zach Randolph of Marion, Ind., are on board for next season, and others are sure to follow in the near future.
Who wouldn't want to follow the charismatic Cleaves? Comparisons of the senior point
guard to former Indiana great Quinn Buckner only intensify the more Michigan State wins:
well-muscled point guards with suspect shooting strokes and impeccable leadership qualities.
In a word, winners.
"This guy here just kind of has a will to win that is second to none," Izzo said of Cleaves
after the Spartans rallied past Iowa State in an incredibly fierce game. It was Cleaves
who reamed his teammates at halftime against Syracuse -- despite a 0-for-6 half himself,
quite the testament to the respect he commands.
"It's something like a refuse-to-lose attitude," Cleaves said. "When we get down, we pull together."
The getting-down part will be a week-long focus for the Spartans as they head to Indy.
Michigan State trailed Syracuse by 14 in the second half Thursday night before uncoiling
a breathtaking rally that included a 17-0 run from a tie at 58 to the final horn. Against Iowa
State the deficit was smaller but more dire, given the Cyclones' tenacity.
Michigan State was behind 61-55 with 4:51 left. Given a small break when a lane violation erased a Marcus Fizer free throw, the Spartans did what they do best: hit big shots and
lock up the other team with death-grip defense.
It took Iowa State 4:07 to score again, and by then it was too late. Michigan State had
gone on a 12-0 run, highlighted by a Cleaves-to-Peterson alley-oop that was called by Peterson during a
timeout.
"Morris said, 'What do you think of the screen and re-screen?' " said the admirably
humble Izzo. "I said I thought it was a great idea. So before you give me credit, you better give
Morris three-fourths credit and Mateen one-fourth credit for throwing the pass. All I got to
do was draw it up with a little pen."
Izzo's pen now needs to draw a bull's-eye on his team's back and prepare for a long week as
the favorite. It is not a position blue-collar Michigan State is accustomed to, but it now unavoidable.
The Spartans are the last big dog standing in a kennel run amok. The title is theirs to lose.
Pat Forde of the Louisville Courier-Journal is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. |
