Michigan State Basketball: Top 10 fan favorite players of Tom Izzo era

The fight for the No. 1 spot was tougher than I thought. It was difficult not to give Cassius Winston the top spot, but I tried not to be a victim of recency bias.

Recency bias or not, you could make the case for Cassius being the biggest Michigan State fan favorite player in the past 25 years. He was everything you hope for in a player and he exceeded all expectations.

In fact, he came in with a loaded 2016 recruiting class that was headlined by Miles Bridges and Josh Langford and he also had Nick Ward with him. He was a four-star recruit, but no one expected him to turn out as the best of the bunch. It became known early on that he was the Spartans’ best option at point guard (sorry, Tum Tum) and he averaged 6.7 points and 5.2 assists as a freshman.

Winston’s production picked up big time as a sophomore when he took over as a team leader, averaging 12.6 points and 6.9 assists per game. Oh, and he shot an astounding 50 percent from 3-point range. Unfortunately, that loaded Big Ten champion squad lost in the round of 32 to Syracuse.

Then, as a junior, he really became one of the biggest fan favorites in program history. He averaged 18.8 points and 7.5 assists, leading Michigan State to a Final Four and winning Big Ten player of the year honors. His senior year was more of the same and like Morris Peterson, Spartan fans rallied behind him as he lost his younger brother to suicide early in the season.

If the NCAA Tournament hadn’t been cancelled, Cassius probably would have taken the top spot on this list, but No. 2 isn’t too shabby for the kid from Detroit.