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Special guest stops in for Michigan State fall camp practice

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

When Michigan State took the field for practice on Thursday, the team was paid a special visit by a Spartans legend.

Former basketball star and national champion Mateen Cleaves stopped by the practice field on Thursday to catch some live glimpses of the Spartans. Second-year head coach Mel Tucker seemed pretty excited to have the hoops star in town.

“I know we’re gonna get better today,” Tucker shouted. “We got a champion in the house.”

Cleaves was the star player on Michigan State’s 1999-2000 national championship squad and was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. The guard was a two-time second-team All-American, a one-time first-team All-American and a two-time B1G Player of the Year.

When he left Michigan State, Cleaves set the school record for total assists with 816 and steals at 195.

Michigan State’s football team seemed to generate a little energy by having a legend in its midst. Maybe Thursday was the best day of practice Tucker has seen from his squad thus far.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB