Why Michigan State basketball's 2000 National Championship is still special

While this year's Michigan State basketball team was taking care of business against Oregon this past weekend (falling short against Indiana on Tuesday), plenty of stars of bygone years were right there to witness it.

The 2000 National Championship team had their 25th anniversary celebration this past weekend. So Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, Andre Hutson, AJ Granger, and Jason Richardson among others were in town to celebrate a moment that still is near and dear to Spartan fans everywhere.

To see so many of them back in the Breslin this past weekend, reminded me of how special that championship still remains to this day, 25 years later. It's still the last time a Big Ten team won it all in college basketball.

Sure there have been many other quality Big Ten teams that didn't win it all, including a couple other Spartan teams. Regardless, the 2000 National Championship will live forever, especially in my mind.

My whole life I've know one coach, Tom Izzo, and as he continues to add to his legacy, whether he gets another Natty, it doesn't matter at this point. I'm forever appreciative for what Izzo has done for Michigan State.

That team from 2000, helped build what we all know today, and they have to always be remembered for it. They won four Big Ten championships in a row, and helped build the legacy of Final Fours.

It still feels like yesterday to me. Even though it was 25 years ago, and I was still only three years old at the time.

Sure plenty of other fanbases give us grief or even talk down about Izzo because he only has one national title. But who are they to say, most of them haven't even sniffed the consistency Izzo has.

Whatever lies ahead for this year's team, it's hard to say, but just for a little bit this past weekend they felt like a team of destiny. I'm not saying they are going to win it all this year, but you never know.