It was 1977, and a local Lansing (Mich.) schoolboy had decided to stay close to home and commit to play his college basketball at Michigan State University.
His name was Earvin Johnson Jr.
I was in my sophomore year at MSU, and I vividly recall seeing students reading, and/or doing their homework, at home games prior to the 1977-78 season.
When he joined Jud Heathcote’s team at Michigan State for the 1977-78 season, Johnson became an immediate superstar. After finishing a mediocre 12-15 overall and fifth in the Big Ten the season before, no one was prepared for the turnaround the Spartans would make.
It was Magic.
Along with fellow rookie Jay Vincent, Johnson led the Spartans on a 13-game winning streak through the middle of conference action. Behind Johnson’s stellar first-year statistics – 17 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game – the Spartans claimed their first Big Ten title in 11 years and Johnson was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year.
The team also ended the school’s 19-year NCAA Tournament drought, and advanced to within three points of the Final Four before falling to Kentucky, 52-49 in the Mideast Regional title game.
Despite the loss to the Wildcats by my beloved Spartans, that was the game during which my respect for the program at Kentucky first surfaced.
Under the tutelage of head coach Joe B. Hall, Kentucky escaped MSU and went on to win its fifth NCAA championship — the Wildcats’ first in 20 years.
The MSU Spartans won their first NCAA men’s basketball championship the following year in 1979 and added their second title in 2000. It’s been a long time since MSU’s last championship, but the program does boast the nation’s longest streak for consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with 26.
Kentucky has added three titles since 1978 (1996, 1998 and 2012) and is poised to begin the 2024-25 season with lofty expectations under new head coach Mark Pope, along with a talented group of players that includes Harlan County freshman Trent Noah.
In between times, and although I have continued to follow and support my Spartans, the soft spot for UK that has remained in my heart finally has a chance to be shared and enjoyed as a resident of the state of Kentucky.
I was in Lexington earlier this summer to attend a Pope press conference, and the following day I found myself sitting inside the Craft Center for a sit-down interview with Noah. I found Trent to be articulate and humble beyond his years, and I was mpressed with the depth of his answers to my questions.
As a Kentucky boy, he is obviously living out a childhood dream as a member of the storied UK program. Given that Noah is from Harlan County gives this old sports writer, and fan, reasons to be even more attentive to both his progress, as well as the team’s pursuit of championship No. 9.
With UK set to host “Big Blue Madness” on Oct. 7 and those Spartans, of mine, scheduled for a similar show called, “Michigan State Madness” on Oct. 4, the college basketball season really is right around the corner.
Both UK and MSU are once again part of the four-team “Champions Classic” in Atlanta on Nov. 12, an event in which traditional powers Duke and Kansas also participate. This year the Wildcats will face Duke, following the MSU-Kansas showdown.
Next season, my two “favorite” teams are scheduled to face each other in that event. Honestly, I will be happy with that outcome, either way.
Go Green! Go ‘Cats!
