Mateen Cleaves shared why he chose Michigan State basketball (Video)

Michigan State basketball wasn’t always the program that it is today. When Tom Izzo took over as head coach in 1995, the program had just one national championship and two Final Fours to its name.

Even when Izzo’s tenure began it was still tough sledding as he and Michigan State failed to make the NCAA tournament in his first two seasons. But that all changed in a hurry when one recruit came to town.

Mateen Cleaves.

We all already know the greatness that is Cleaves. His name will hang in the Breslin Center rafters forever as he was the leader of the team that won Izzo his only national championship in 2000.

But how did he end up at Michigan State in the first place? He was an extremely sought after recruit who could’ve gone to many other schools, so why did he pick a somewhat struggling program with a first time head coach?

Cleaves recently sat down with This is Sparta MSU podcast and detailed why he chose to play for Izzo and Michigan State.

When asked why he chose Michigan State, the first thing Cleaves spoke about was how impressed he was with Izzo’s work ethic.

"First of all a ridiculous work ethic. He was in Flint almost every day recruiting me. He was at my football practice, he was at basketball practice… If I was just working out in the weight room he and his assistants were there."

- Mateen Cleaves

Is anyone surprised hearing this? I know I’m not.

Izzo’s entire career has been built around an insane work ethic, one that out matches every other coach in the country. So to hear he already had this crazy work ethic as a young coach just cements that part of his legacy.

The second thing Cleaves shared was how close of a connection he and Izzo were able to build.

"Then it was the ability to connect with him. It didn’t feel like a used car salesman."

- Mateen Cleaves

Again, this should surprise no one. A staple of the Michigan State basketball program nowadays is the family like atmosphere. Every single player that comes through the program speaks on this, so once again Izzo cemented this aspect of his program early and it’s obviously stuck all throughout the years.

Without Cleaves I don’t know where Michigan State would be as a program. They probably don’t win the 2000 national championship without him, and without that title who knows what would’ve happened in the 24 years since.

But thankfully we don’t have to worry about that. Thankfully we don’t have to wonder what Michigan State would be like without him. We can just be thankful that he took a chance on a new coach and average program and raised it to the level that we still enjoy to this day.