Hello and welcome to the official start of the SpartansWire Favorite Spartans of all Time Tournament. Sure, that’s a terrible name, but at this point, who cares? It’s a pandemic outside. Fictional bracket names don’t matter right now.
Today I’m going to lay out the Draymond Green region, which is highlighted by overall number one seed–you guessed it–Draymond Green. Players will be pitted against each other and the winner will be decided exclusively by fan vote.
You can vote on the Magic Johnson region here.
You can vote on the Kirk Cousins region here.
Here’s the full region for a quick refresher.
As with every region, there are a number of big names in the bracket without much separating the top seeds from the lower seeds.
Let’s get to the matchups!
1. Draymond Green vs. 16. Tum Tum Nairn
Our number one seed in this region is of course Draymond Green. There’s not much that needs to be said here other than Green won just about every award a player can win in college, went to two Final Fours, a national title game, won some Big Ten titles, and has his number retired at MSU. Then he went on to a meager NBA career where so far he has won a Defensive Player of the Year, been on the NBA All-Defense team five times, been twice All-NBA, been an All-Star and, oh yeah, won three NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors. He also donated a boatload of money to the school for new facilities and always sends gifts to the basketball team and is a constant and loud cheerleader for MSU. That stuff doesn’t even factor in how much people gravitated to him at MSU, the leader he was, how much he hated Michigan . . . the list goes on forever. Draymond Green is an easy No. 1 seed.
He takes on Tum Tum Nairn. Tum was one of the best leaders in the history of MSU basketball, and that is saying a lot. Find a single person that doesn’t have glowing things to say about Nairn as a person, teammate, and leader. I dare you. Go do it now and I’ll see you never because it’s not happening. No, his offensive game never came around, but he still found a way to be a hugely important player on some great MSU teams in spite of that. He was one of Izzo’s favorites and is already back as an assistant coach for the basketball team.
2. Lorenzo White vs. 15. Xavier Tillman Sr.
Lorenzo White is–flatly–the greatest running back in the history of Michigan State football. It’s not close. The record books are all Lorenzo White, followed by a cadre of really good running backs. He is a two-time All-American and twice was a Heisman Trophy finalist. He rushed for more than 2,000 yards as a sophomore and was the star player on the 1987 Rose Bowl winning team. He’s a college football hall of famer and was recently enshrined in the MSU ring of honor. For a generation of Spartan fans, he is the face of MSU football.
He takes on Xavier Tillman Sr. Recency bias makes me feel like Tillman is under-seeded–and maybe he is by a couple spots. Tillman was a key reserve-turned-starter on the 2019 Final Four team and was the second most valuable player down the stretch for MSU behind Cassius Winston. His junior season was excellent as well, as he won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a bunch of other all-conference type awards. Longevity probably knocks Tillman a bit and if he stays for his senior season at MSU and they make a run, he flies up this list. But the damn coronavirus robbed Tillman at a second tournament run to help him move up the list.
3. Morris Peterson vs. 14. Sedrick Irvin
Mo Pete won every single individual and team award there is to win in college basketball save for national player of the year. He was the leading scorer (and probably best player) on the 2000 national championship team. He was a member of the legendary Flintstones and his number 42 is up in the Breslin Center rafters. Should he be the two seed in this region? Maybe. I wouldn’t hate the argument. Mo Pete is–flatly–one of the greatest and most beloved Spartans of all time.
Sedrick Irvin is probably the most exciting running back in MSU history. That feels fair to say, right? Or maybe the most exciting work-horse type back. Irvin certainly wasn’t a water bug running back and often ran up the middle and with power, but he had incredible shiftiness for a guy his size. He was huge and fast and made smaller players miss with jukes and spin moves. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards all three years at MSU and would be even higher in the record books had he played another season. As it sits, he’s one of the best to ever do it at running back at MSU and one of the more electric playmakers MSU has had.
4. Plaxico Burress vs. 13. BJ Cunningham
There’s something to be said for how impactful big performances against Michigan are for Michigan State players. Burress, as great as he was in just two years at MSU, is probably most remembered for what he did against UofM in 1999, catching ten passes for an absurd 255 yards in No. 11 MSU’s 34-31 win over No. 3 Michigan. That alone is enough to endear Plax to MSU fans forever. Add in the great production for the rest of his two season at MSU and you get an incredibly beloved player.
He takes on BJ Cunningham, the top receiver during the Kirk Cousins era. BJ’s name is all over the MSU record book and he had a knack for coming up with big catches during the very successful 2010 and 2011 seasons. He is Michigan State’s all-time leader in both career receptions and career receiving yards and ranks second in career touchdowns.
5. Antonio Smith vs. 12. Ike Reese
The founding and eldest member of the Flintstones, Antonio Smith is the only one of the four to have missed out on the 2000 national championship. Smith, as a senior, helped the 1999 team to the Final Four and then had to watch as his former team cut down the nets the next year. That’s a tough break, but Smith’s career is nothing to shake a stick at. He was a quality player for MSU for four years and is one of the more prolific rebounders in school history. We know how much that means. But Smith’s attitude and toughness mattered so much to establishing what MSU basketball has become. He’s a foundational guy in ever sense of the word. And who knows if the Flintstones ever come together like they did without Smith.
He takes on Ike Reese, one of the most prolific linebackers in MSU football history. Reese had 420 career tackles, which ranks fourth all time in school history. He was a bright spot during some tough times for MSU as the Perles era ended in not-so-spectacular fashion and the Saban era was just starting to get rolling. Reese was also just intimidating as hell. He was huge, fast and an incredibly hard hitter. That’s the type of linebacker MSU fans gravitate to.
6. Andre Rison vs. 11. Andre Hutson
We’ve got a battle of Andres in the 6 vs. 11. Rison was one of the more talented receivers to ever don the green and white. His name is all over the school record books for receiving and he was a key member of the 1987 Rose Bowl team. Rison had a long and prolific NFL career and has one of the best nicknames in the game courtesy of ESPN’s Chris Berman: Andre “Bad Moon” Rison. Lisa Lopes set his house on fire on accident too while the two were dating on and off. I’m not sure where that fits in here, but it’s worth mentioning.
Andre Hutson was a key member of the 1999 and 2001 Final Four and 2000 national title teams at MSU. He was the non-Flintstone member of those teams and was every bit as important as Cleaves, Peterson, and Bell. A great defender and rebounder, Hutson provided some muscle inside for MSU and eventually became a go-to option offensively later in his career.
7. Kirk Gibson vs. 10. Felton Davis III
Gibby. Enough said right? No, well I’ll say some more. Kirk Gibson was an All-American receiver at MSU; one of the greatest the school has ever had at the position. He’s a college football hall of famer and deservedly so. He set a ton of records during his time in the green and white and is in the MSU football Ring of Fame. Oh, and everybody knows him because of his incredible professional baseball career. Two-sport star doesn’t even begin to define what Gibson did at MSU. He played baseball for one year at MSU and was good enough to get drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft and the rest, as they say, is history.
Gibson takes on Felton Davis III, a fan favorite from the last few years of MSU football. Davis III came on as a freshman and helped the 2015 team reach the College Football Playoff. He broke out a bit as a junior and then was really taking off his senior season before an Achille’s tear ended his season early. Davis III was the leading receiver on the ten-win 2017 football team and had a phenomenal game-winning touchdown against Penn State in 2018.
8. Tony Lippett vs. 9. Jeff Smoker
Our 8 vs. 9 is a doozy. Tony Lippett was a big contributor on the 2013 Big Ten championship team and had a massive senior season in 2014, earning All-Big Ten honors and the Big Ten’s receiver of the Year Award. A steady presence, nothing in MSU football history has been more reliable than a Connor Cook back shoulder fade to Tony Lippett on 3rd and 11. 100% conversion rate. Every time. Lippett also has the single hardest hit in the history of MSU football. That helps.
Lippett’s opponent is Jeff Smoker. Smoker was a prolific passer and held many MSU records until Connor Cook got to campus. The problem for Smoker is that he led a handful of pretty mediocre teams. He was at times very frustrating to MSU fans, but he also authored a number of incredible wins and moments. Perhaps most notably, he threw the game-winning touchdown pass in the infamous “clock gate” win over Michigan.
