Silently Super Spartans

It’s incredibly difficult to get to the Final Four. Just ask the 343 schools who didn’t make it this year. To do it multiple times in a short span is even more difficult. Ask the eight schools who have done it since 2000 and they'll tell you it's no cake walk. In other sports, getting to the finals or playing in the last round of a tournament is just as hard to do. That’s what makes Michigan State so astounding. They are the definition of consistency in college basketball. This trip to Indianapolis and the Final Four is their 6th in the last 12 years. With the new style college basketball has taken on the last ten years, to be that talented every year is incredible.

Here is what college basketball has become in the last decade: If you have a good player, they're off for the NBA come mid-April. That means every year it is the coach’s job to start fresh and find the best players possible. And the best players in the country do not go to the same schools anymore. The competitiveness in the sport has never been greater. Since 2000, the top 5 recruits coming out of high school have gone to a combined 18 schools. Sure, UNC and Duke led the way with 6 and 4 Top-5 recruits, respectively, but some less history-rich schools have stolen some prospects. You probably wouldn't believe me if I said Washington, Seton Hall, and Alabama have as many top prospects in the last decade as UConn, Syracuse, Indiana, and Louisville, but it's true. It’s not like coach Tom Izzo has had the same core group of players for all 12 years. Each fall he takes a different group of kids, full of potential and expectations, and executes. That's right, they've been more consistent than North Carolina, UCLA, Kansas, and even a certain school from Durham, North Carolina... (Warning to any and all NCAA officials reading this: You will probably find the next statement highly offensive. Like adults say to their 6-year-old children, which most of you are, "Eyes closed children!")... the precious, can-do-no-wrong Duke Blue Devils.

(Tangent Time! Sunday night I was watching Duke-Baylor, steaming that Duke would win and go to the Final Four. The Bears need to foul, so they trap Jon Scheyer just beyond halfcourt. He calls a timeout and swings his elbows. In that order. As in the timeout was granted by the official standing 2 feet away, then a good second and a half after the whistle was blown he swung his elbow like he was a 13-year-old girl and Roman Polanski was coming at him. Of course nothing was going to be called on Scheyer. Yet when Baylor's Quincy Acy disagrees with it and bumps into a Duke player, he gets a technical foul. I'm not complaining over the technical. Acy deserved it. He got into Nolan Smith's face and made contact with him. Fine. Whatever. However, the fact that Scheyer's excessive elbow-throwing was in clear violation of NCAA rules. Section 13, Article 1 of the NCAA Men's and Women's Rule Book states "A player shall not excessively swing his or her arm(s) or elbow(s) even without contacting an opponent." Article 3 says "Action of arm(s) and elbow(s) resulting from total body movement as in pivoting or movement of the ball incidental to feinting with it, releasing it, or moving it to prevent a held ball or loss of control shall not be considered excessive." Scheyer was not moving either foot. It was a clear elbow after the whistle. Yet because he's from Duke, no call. Can't upset the fragile preppies.)

Can you tell I don't like Duke that much? I personally hope West Virginia kicks the crap out of them. So, right, back to the Spartans! When you think of some of the best teams in sports over the last dozen years few have comparatively matched the boys from East Lansing. The Los Angeles Lakers have made it to 6 NBA Finals with 4 titles. The New England Patriots made it to 4 Super Bowls and won 3. The Yankees made it to 4 World Series and won 2. But remember, all of those teams are professionals. That means they can keep players for as long as they please, pay them as much as possible, and have to contend with 30 other teams. In college the 70th best team can take down the best on any given night. Anyone who filled out and repeatedly swore at their NCAA Tournament brackets can tell you that.

To sustain success on the college level is something not many teams can do. So you'd think that a team like Michigan State would be constantly among the pre-season favorites to win the NCAA title, right? Wrong. And you'd think they would be loaded with the best talent in the land, right? Wrong again. Every season the Spartans are overlooked, largely due to their lack of superstars. When they won the national title in 2000, they had 2 All-Big Ten first teamers in Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson, but neither were Player of the Year worthy. In 2001 they had one all-conference first teamer (Jason Richardson). In '04-'05, their best players (Maurice Ager and Alan Anderson) made All-Big Ten second team. The last 2 years their best player was Kalin Lucas, whose career high in points is 25. Izzo didn't exactly work with Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Durant. But he takes what he has, utilizes his players' strengths, and turns them into a team. Every year they get pushed aside by the media, and every year the Spartans tell the media to shove it. How do you like them apples?

This weekend I can guarantee you this storyline will be overlooked. After all, Butler's gym is where the boys of Hickory High fictitiously won the state title in Hoosiers in 1951. And the Bulldogs are playing a whole 5-miles from downtown Indy, where the Final Four is being played this year. And West Virginia is playing in their first Final Four since the days of Jerry West. And of course Duke is playing, so we'll hear loads about how good Kyle Singler is (7-for-26 shooting his last 2 games, including 0-for-10 in the Elite 8) and how Nolan Smith is underrated. Spare me. I say focus on how amazingly consistent Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans are, and how for the 6th time in 12 years, they are quietly in the Final Four. Watch it closely. Who knows when another team will make such a run on the college level. And if you don't it's okay. The Spartans will keep on winning anyways.