Mateen Cleaves' file
	Class: Senior Height: 6-2 Weight: 195 lbs. Position: Point guard Hometown: Flint, Mich. 1998-99 statistics:  11.7 points  1.6 rebounds  7.2 assists  3.7 turnovers  1.8 steals  31.2 minutes

Cleaves is not "Mateen Angel" by any means. And opponents have a devil of a time with this point guard, one who can both get his teammates involved or grab a game by the throat and win it himself.

Cleaves' collegiate career got off to a sluggish start after a car accident during his recruiting visit to archrival Michigan. A back injury put him in a brace for months, kept him from working out that summer and made his freshman year an exercise in frustration.

But he earned Big Ten Player-of-the-Year honors from the coaches and the media as a sophomore, averaging 16.1 points and 7.2 assists. He was a first-team All-America, according to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and had the greatest impact of any Michigan State sophomore other than a guy named Magic Johnson.

Just when it seemed Cleaves would work on his deficiencies in the off-season and be even better as a junior, he suffered an ankle injury while playing for the USA at the World Basketball Championships in Greece. After that rehabilitation, he slipped down some stairs outside his apartment and injured his shooting shoulder, further slowing his progress.

Once Cleaves was healthy, he again became a consensus All-America as Michigan State's No. 2 scorer and set a Big Ten record with 274 assists in 38 games, five more than Magic had in 32 games 20 years earlier. And it was Johnson who snapped Cleaves out of a mid-season funk with a simple order -- "Have fun!" -- before a win over Michigan in January.

The Spartans didn't lose again until the 1999 Final Four, as Cleaves established himself as one of the NCAA's best clutch performers. His penetration and pass in the final seconds beat Illinois. And his last-chance baskets lifted the Spartans past Minnesota, Penn State and Northwestern. No one in college basketball was a better player at winning time.

But injuries have slowed the start to Cleaves' senior season. A stress fracture in his right foot will keep him out of action until January. But when he comes back, Cleaves needs just nine assists to pass Scott Skiles for the top spot on his school's career list and is also within range to erase Bruce Douglas' Big Ten record of 765 at Illinois. However, his most recent injury could prevent him from joining Ohio State great Jerry Lucas as the league's only three-time MVP.

For all the great decisions he has made, Cleaves' best move was probably the choice to stay in school and complete his degree. Erratic shooting had him relegated to the middle of the NBA draft's first round. But he has worked on that deficiency and scored 60 points in a Flint Summer League game this summer.

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