A couple of Spartan legends check in on elite 2028 MSU target Mateen Cleaves Jr.

There’s a legacy point guard prospect in the 2028 class that Tom Izzo and all Michigan State basketball fans are hoping and praying ends up in East Lansing.

Mateen Cleaves Jr., the son of Spartan legend Mateen Cleaves, is one of the top prospects in the 2028 class, standing 6-foot-4 and flashing the necessary talent to become Izzo’s No. 1 target in that cycle. He may be the perfect prospect to send Izzo off into the sunset after winning (hopefully) a third — or fourth — national title.

Obviously I’m getting way ahead of myself, but it would be the perfect storybook ending to a Hall of Fame career. Izzo started his career by winning a national title with a Cleaves as his point guard and he could finish his Spartan coaching career by winning another with a Cleaves leading the way.

Imagine that storyline.

Izzo is going to be going all-in on the four-star point guard who plays his high school ball in Glendale, Ariz., where his dad is an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns.

It appears that Izzo will have some help from Spartan legends along the way.

At a recent Nike EYBL event in Vegas, Spartan legends Plaxico Burress and Zach Randolph showed up to show support for Cleaves Jr., and all he did was go off for 23 points, seven assists, and five boards. Mateen Sr. called his son the “nephew” of Plaxico and Randolph who were all at Michigan State around the same time together.

Mateen, donning his Suns’ apparel, Z-Bo, and Plaxico are all Michigan State legends and at least two of them are going to lobby for Mateen Jr. to play for Izzo. Mateen Sr. has to be somewhat impartial and let his son choose his own path, but you know that he, too, would love if he were able to attend Michigan State games with his son starring for the Spartans.

Michigan State’s “family atmosphere” strikes again

It’s great to see the Michigan State “family” come together once again. You don’t see these types of cross-sport relationships at other programs. Also, Mateen and Randolph were never teammates at Michigan State and the latter and Plaxico didn’t go to school at the same time and yet they’re all brothers.

Name another program where three guys who didn’t all play at the same time — or even the same sport (Plaxico) — come together to support another’s son at a high school basketball event. You can’t.

Mateen played basketball at MSU until 2000 when he won the national title, Randolph was a freshman and one-and-done player after the 2000-01 season, and Plaxico wrapped up his last football season with Michigan State in 1999. Yet here they are, all still family.

Izzo always says that fellow coaches tell him how jealous they are of what he has at Michigan State, and it’s easy to see why. He has former players going to support other former players’ sons while a former member of the football program is also there to show love.

Michigan State is a special place and if anyone ever asks you why you feel that way, just show them this picture.

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