Jaren Jackson Jr. puts himself, 2 surprises in Michigan State’s all-time starting 5

Jaren Jackson Jr. is one of the best to ever do it at Michigan State in the short time that he was in East Lansing. The eight-year NBA veteran has had himself an impressive career to this point, and it all started at Michigan State under Tom Izzo.

There was talk of Jaren sticking around for a sophomore season, but Izzo wasn’t about to let that happen. If he did, there would be a legitimate case for him as the best big to ever play for MSU.

Jackson Jr. already believes he was one of the best bigs to ever suit up for the Spartans, putting himself in his own all-time Michigan State starting five.

He also had a couple of other surprises in his starting five.

Jaren started with Magic Johnson, and then questioned the idea of putting himself in the starting five, but then he talked himself into it. He followed his own inclusion with Mateen Cleaves, Denzel Valentine, and Draymond Green.

While I thought Jaren being in the starting five was a surprise, I was also kind of shocked to see him choose Mateen over his former teammate in Cassius Winston. That was always a huge debate. Who was better, Mateen or Cassius? If Cassius got that senior year NCAA Tournament run, I think he may have surpassed the former national champion.

I also thought it was interesting that he chose Denzel over a slew of other options. I almost expected him to choose Miles Bridges. You could even make an argument for some other bigs over Draymond, but that’s the safest pick.

I like Jaren’s all-time starting five, but mine would look a little different.

Picking an all-time Michigan State starting five

Most of Jaren’s picks are the same as mine, but I would probably switch out Denzel for Steve Smith and Mateen for Cassius. That might be controversial, but I just think that Smith’s career in the green and white was incredible and deserves a ton more love. He had over 2,200 career points and averaged 25.1 as a senior.

Switching Mateen for Cassius may sound crazy because the former won a national title, but the latter had a great chance as a senior before COVID-19 hit. He also broke Mateen’s assists record.

Tell me who’s stopping this lineup:

PG: Cassius Winston
PG: Magic Johnson
SF/SG: Steve Smith
PF: Draymond Green
C: Jaren Jackson Jr.

Having two guys who can handle the ball and four shooters (college Draymond could also shoot) make this lineup as good as any all-time starting five in the country.