Michigan State Basketball: All-time Tom Izzo era "what if" team

Michigan State Basketball: All-time Tom Izzo era “what if” team

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks to Chris Allen #3 during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 27, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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ST. LOUIS, MO – MARCH 26: Delvon Roe #10 of the Michigan State Spartans takes a breather against the Northern Iowa Panthers during the Midwest Regional semi-final of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Edward Jones Dome on March 26, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. Michigan State advanced with a 59-52 win. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Delvon Roe was a special recruit. Everyone remembers tuning in to his high school game on ESPN when he grabbed a rebound, took the ball coast-to-coast and slammed over a defender with Tom Izzo in attendance. Oh, you don’t recall? Well, here you go:

Unfortunately, Roe never lived up to his five-star recruiting ranking because he could never seem to stay healthy. You might look at his three seasons at Michigan State and wonder how that could be as he played over 30 games each year and averaged over 20 minutes per game during his sophomore and junior years, but he was hampered.

In fact, he kept a knee injury from the staff during his sophomore year which limited his athleticism and he didn’t want to miss the season. If he had just gotten that taken care of, he would have likely ended his Michigan State career on his own terms.

Instead, he averaged just 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds over his career, but his ceiling was lowered because he didn’t have two good knees.

Roe ended up retiring after his junior season because of those ailing knees and took up a career in acting.

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