Cassius Winston seen at Michigan State basketball practice

Michigan State basketball is in the midst of its summer practice and workout schedule, and that is typically a time when any number of former Spartans can make an appearance. Typically it's the older former players as the younger vets are still playing professionally whether it's in the NBA or overseas so they don't have as much time to come back to campus.

But that wasn't the case on Thursday.

Michigan State legend Cassius Winston was pictured at the team's practice on Thursday, which was posted on X by the team's official page.

This is awesome to see for a few reasons. The obvious is that Winston is an elite player who clearly can share a lot of tips and offer a lot of advice to any player on the team. But beyond that, Winston coming back is huge for the program's culture.

Winston is the definition of what it means to be a Spartan. He embodied what a Spartan is down to his core while he was in East Lansing. And it's that culture that's been missing ever since guys like him and Xavier Tillman Sr. left the program after the 2019-2020 season.

But now with Winston back in town, he can help teach the current guys what it takes to be successful at Michigan State. There aren't many greater winners than Winston in Michigan State's history and there aren't many greater leaders either. So any wisdom that he can share on that front is just as valuable as actual on-court Xs and Os.

Who knows how much time he plans on spending with the team this offseason, but selfishly I hope he's here for the rest of the summer. The impact he can still have on the program is immense, and I'm glad to see him helping the next guys as much as he can.