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MEN'S BASKETBALL A Book Recommendation

I am currently reading the book "Magic: The Life of Marvin "Magic" Johnson.

Very interesting, covers his early childhood playing basketball in Junior High, at Everett High School, at MSU and The Lakers.

It's a great insight into the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of all his various experiences, to include testing positive for HIV. His relationships with his parents, Cookie, Charles Tucker, Jerry Buss and all the players and coaches he had, were highlighted.

It's a long read - almost 800 pages.

A True Spartan!!!!

FOOTBALL Alan Haller on expectations under Jonathan Smith, future of college sports

What does a successful first year under Jonathan Smith look like in Alan Haller's eyes?

"A product that we can all gravitate towards to."

Haller spoke about expectations, the future of college sports and more at Big Ten Media Days:

RECRUITING 2026 RB Izaiah Wright leaves 'Spartan Dawg Con' with Michigan State offer

Michigan State hosted its fourth annual "Spartan Dawg Con" event this weekend, which brings together former players, former coaches, current players, current coaches and recruits.

MSU hosted many prospects on campus for the event, and extended a few scholarship offers as well. In-state class of 2026 running back

Izaiah Wright
, out of Oscar A. Carlson High School in Gibraltar, Michigan, was one of the recruits who received an offer, and it was a special moment for him.


Wright has been building a strong bond with Michigan State assistant head coach/co-special teams coordinator/running backs coach Keith Bhonapha for a while. He is intrigued with the direction head coach Jonathan Smith is looking to take the program.

"It felt great," Wright told Spartans Illustrated about the offer from MSU. "I have a good relationship with the coaches and I really like them."

More here:

FOOTBALL Former MSU QB Jim Ninowski has Passed Away

Jim Ninowski passed away at the age of 88. In 1957, he led MSU to an 8-1 record and Final No. 3 overall national ranking.
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In my MSU QB rankings, I had him as the 7th-best QB overall in MSU history.

He was, at the time of my original QB rankings in 2019, 3rd in TDs per completion at 1 per 5.8 and 3rd in TDs per attempt at 1 per 11.0

He was 3rd in yards per attempt, 8.7, and 6th in adjusted yards per attempt at 8.0

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Ninowski was the starting quarterback in 1957 on a Spartan squad that finished No.3 in the country.

Ninowski was selected as offensive captain of the North team for the Christmas Day North-South Shrine Game played in Miami's Orange Bowl.

Ninowski was the 49th player taken in the 1958 draft by Cleveland and Paul Brown.

Ninowski quarterbacked the College All-Stars to a 35–19 victory over the NFL champion Detroit Lions in the College All-Star Game on August 15 before his Pro Career. But he played little for Cleveland.

Traded to Detroit, Ninowski started 10 of 12 regular-season games for Detroit in 1960 and eight of the Lions' 14 regular-season games in 1961.

Impressed by his progress, Cleveland and Paul Brown reacquired him; Ninowski led the Browns to a 4–3 record in 1962 before his season ended when he suffered a dislocated shoulder and fractured clavicle. He continued to play for the Browns through 1966.

He also played for Washington (backing up Sonny Jurgenson) and the New Orleans Saints (backing up Billy Kilmer) before retiring in 1969.


OTHER SCHOOLS: Michigan releases Notice of Allegations it received last fall via FOIA request

From the free article in The Detroit News:

According to the NOA, allegation No. 1 involved impermissible recruiting contact and inducements to three football recruits and their fathers. One of the prospects was given access to the football facilities and met with a coach in the weight room. The redacted NOA does not say which coach or coaches were involved, but a recruit and his father were met at a local restaurant and “the football program provided a discounted meal” and also allegedly had a free meal at a local restaurant. The recruit and his father were given a tour of the campus and visited the football facilities, where they were given a tour. The third recruit and his father were met at a local restaurant when they visited the campus. They were provided a tour of the campus, according to the NOA.

It is unclear in allegation No. 2, which coach was involved, but the enforcement staff alleged that during an interview with investigators in 2022, the coach failed to cooperate and provided misleading or false information.

The third allegation involves Harbaugh and the “unethical or dishonest conduct."

The NCAA issued a fourth allegation that involved the football staff's involvement in on-campus evaluations and the use of non-coaching staff as hands-on coaches “in the presence of the assistant football coaches.”

Finally, the fifth allegation said that the first two allegations “demonstrate that the institution did not (a) effectively deter and/or detect the football program's impermissible in-person on-campus and off-campus interactions with prospective student-athletes and (b) ensure the football program's compliance with noncoaching staff member legislation during the 2021 period and on-campus evaluation restrictions.”

FOOTBALL Michigan State tight end Jack Velling 'anxious' to get fall camp started

At 2024 Big Ten Football Media Days In Indianapolis, Jonathan Smith spoke very highly of Jack Velling at the podium, noting that he has a chance to be “one of the best tight ends in the country.”

Velling's reaction to those comments made by Smith:

“I’m grateful that he believes in me,” Velling said about Smith. “My teammates give me confidence. My coaches give me confidence. I have a great support system, family. A lot of people around me give me confidence and I’m just grateful that I have people like that.”

More from Velling at media days:

FOOTBALL Big Ten Media Days: Jonathan Smith on expectations, roster depth and more

Jonathan Smith spoke at 2024 Big Ten Football Media Days about expectations, roster attrition, depth and more.

Smith on expectations:

“Winning more than we lose. Playing our best football at the end of the year. We want to be in a constant state of improvement.“

More:

NEW COMMIT: In-state 2024 TE Easton Boggs joins Michigan State as preferred walk-on

Michigan State is stacking up on quality preferred walk-ons to bolster its roster for the upcoming season. The newest PWO member is class of 2024 tight end Easton Boggs out of Lenawee Christian School in Adrian, Michigan.

The program officially announced the addition of Boggs on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Boggs chose Michigan State over opportunities with his other finalists, Liberty and Hillsdale.

"Through conversations with family and coaches, and a lot of prayer, I decided on Michigan State," Boggs told Spartans Illustrated. "MSU has a program that is turning around, and no discredit to the coaches at Hillsdale, but the staff here is amazing. My opportunities at MSU are going to be endless and I can’t wait to see where the journey takes me! All glory to God!"

More here:

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MEN'S BASKETBALL Takeaways from Michigan State players at the MoneyBall Pro-Am

On Tuesday, @SydneyPadgett was in Holt to watch the Moneyball Pro-Am. Here are her takeaways from the event, and some thoughts from Michigan State center Carson Cooper:

FOOTBALL Michigan State Head Coach Jonathan Smith: "I'm looking forward to building something special here.”

Here is our first article from Big Ten Media Days:


More to come soon! I am off to talk to some players

OFF TOPIC: Cassius Winston has signed in Italy, Marcus Bingham Jr. to Israel for the upcoming season...

Cassius Winston has signed in Italy to play with PallacReggiana for the upcoming season...

Cassius has all the skill in the world and is a good shooter, but he lacks the size and quickness for the NBA right now.

Winston averaged 14.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game last season.

However, good luck to him in Italy and enjoy the Pasta!

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TRANSFER PORTAL Michigan State one of few programs to upgrade QB through the portal

Rivals rankings director and national transfer portal analyst Adam Friedman takes a look at programs that lost their previous starter to the transfer portal and determine whether the replacement they nabbed from the portal will be an upgrade or downgrade.

Not at all surprising, but Michigan State's Aidan Chiles is expected to be a significant upgrade for the Spartans compared to the revolving door of quarterbacks the team trotted out at in 2023. Not all programs can say that, though.

More here:

FOOTBALL Big Ten Media Days Live Thread

Hello from Indianapolis.

I have arrived for 2024 Big Ten Football Media Days (the unofficial official start to football season). @Dr. Green and White and @bensonday1 will join me tomorrow at Lucas Oil Stadium for a full day of coverage.

Jonathan Smith will have his televised press conference at noon ET on Big Ten Network. If you miss the press conference, we will have a recap of what he said shortly after.

We will also have lengthy non-televised chats with Smith, Nate Carter, Jack Velling and Dillon Tatum in the afternoon. We will have stories with quotes from those three players and Smith later this week.

Stay tuned to this thread and our X account (LINK) for the most up to date coverage from Indy.

We will have multiple pieces of content in the coming days.

FOOTBALL Michigan State Football 2024 Positional Preview: Offensive Line

We’re continuing our previews of each position group ahead of the 2024 season with a look at the offensive line.

Ryan and I break down the entire room, and look at who could be big contributors in the trenches this fall.

Read more here.

OTHER SCHOOLS: Lincoln Riley says Nick Saban was Ahead of His Time in Scheduling...

“‘Bama was ahead of the curve for years, I thought, on how they scheduled in the non-conference,” Riley told reporters, per On3. “They would occasionally hit the marquee non-conference game, they’d play two other not-very-good teams, they’d play one late so they got essentially a little bit of a bye week there late in the season. They didn’t schedule for their fans – they scheduled to win championships.

FOOTBALL Michigan State RB Nate Carter: Team is 'hungry' to prove people wrong

Nate Carter said that it seems like there is a different feel around the Michigan State program heading into this season, saying the group is very hungry for success and to get back on the winning track as a program.

"If I could describe the way the team is feeling right now would be hungry," Carter said. "I feel like we're hungry for more, we're hungry to win, we're hungry to improve, we're hungry to prove people wrong. And that's good for us, because we're able to be hungry—now, what do we do with this appetite? Now, what are we able to do to achieve this hunger that's inside of us? We have to do that by winning games, we have to do that by working hard and grinding each and every day and taking it a day at a time and a game at a time."

More quotes from Carter at Big Ten Media Days, by @Seth Berry:

FOOTBALL Michigan State releases 2024 fall camp roster (updated with roster notes article)

We'll take a look through this shortly and try to identify interesting notes, but here is Michigan State's 2024 preseason camp roster here:


Michigan State is expected to open fall camp on Tuesday, July 30, with players reporting on Monday, July 29

RECRUITING 2025 5-Star Men's Basketball Recruit Trey McKenney, Originally from Flint, Has Set His Visits...

24/7 High School Hoops and League Ready (@LeagueRDY ) is reporting 2025 5 Trey McKenney (@mckenneytrey1) plans to visit the following schools this fall,

September 1st: USC
September 21: Michigan
October 4th: Michigan State
October 12th: Oregon
October 26th: Ohio State
November 9th: Notre Dame
December 4th: Creighton

McKenney is a 6'4, 200-pound shooting guard, originally from Flint, Michigan, who now plays for St Mary's and resides in West Bloomfield, MI.
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RECRUITING Four-star CB LaRue Zamorano down to two ahead of decision - including Michigan State

Rivals National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney recently spoke with 2025 four-star cornerback LaRue Zamorano. The California native is set to pick between Michigan State and Washington on Saturday.

He breaks down what he likes about each school here:

RECRUITING Basketball: Michigan State legacy Jaxon Richardson listening to pitches

Rivals Basketball Recruiting Director Rob Cassidy checks in with Michigan State legacy recruit and class of 2026 four-star shooting guard Jaxon Richardson (brother of current Spartan Jase Richardson and son of former Spartan Jason Richardson).

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The young Richardson discusses his relationship with Tom Izzo, but is keeping all of his options open. I do not believe the Spartans have offered just yet, but something to keep an eye on.

MEN'S BASKETBALL Ron " Bobo" Charles of the 1979 MSU Basketball Team Has Passed Away...

...according to Magic Johnson.

Ron was a slender but wiry, muscular 6'8" forward with a similar playing style to Dennis Rodman.

Jud used a joke that his shooting range was "Dunk and in."

No one has approached his—.639 shooting accuracy career mark. In a 59-58 win over Michigan in Crisler Arena, Charles set a single-game record with 12-for-12 shooting, one basket better than his 11-for-12 work that season against Central Michigan.

But he was a better person than a basketball player and never had anything bad to say about anyone, according to those who knew him.

FOOTBALL Michigan State picked 16th in 2024 cleveland.com preseason Big Ten poll

The annual Cleveland.com preseason Big Ten poll was released on Monday, and the voters are not high on Michigan State for the 2024 season. The Spartans were picked to finish 16th in the now 18-team Big Ten conference with 119 points, finishing ahead of just Indiana (17th) and Purdue (18th).

Unsurprisingly, Ohio State was picked to win the conference title in 2024, receiving 21 out of the 27 total votes for first place and 480 total points. Oregon received the other six first-place votes and finished second. Penn State was picked third, Michigan was picked fourth and Iowa was picked fifth.

Here is how the scoring works and other info about the poll:

"Each writer was asked to vote 1-18, with first-place votes worth 18 points, second-place votes worth 17 and so on.

"Cleveland.com picked up the responsibility for organizing the poll when the Big Ten dropped it 14 years ago. Beat writers from all 14 Big Ten teams were invited to participate, as were some who cover the entire league or have a national perspective."

Personally, I am not expecting MSU to compete for anything meaningful in 2024, but I would be surprised if the Spartans finish as the third-worst team in the conference this year. What are your thoughts?

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