EAST LANSING, Mich. – A viral social media post is highlighting how much college basketball has changed, and it will really make you appreciate how Michigan State built its Sweet 16 team.
The post (click here to view it) shows every Sweet 16 team’s starting five by stacking the logos of the teams where those players began their college careers.
Michigan, for example, has the Auburn, North Texas, Yale, and two Texas Tech logos for Tre Donaldson, Rubin Jones, Danny Wolf, Nimari Burnett, and Vlad Goldin, respectively.
Only one team’s starting five is entirely homegrown: Purdue. But Michigan State and Duke both have four homegrown players in their starting lineups.
Fifth-year senior Szymon Zapala has started all 35 games for the Spartans after spending three seasons at Utah State and last year at Longwood.
The rest of Michigan State’s starting five -- Jase Richardson, Jaxon Kohler, Jeremy Fears Jr., and Jaden Akins -- have only played for Tom Izzo.
There’s no wrong way to build a college basketball team. Obviously, many of the teams in the Sweet 16 have used the transfer portal effectively. But Michigan State is proof that players can still be developed within a program.
The Spartans will play No. 6 seed Ole Miss on Friday for a spot in the Elite 8, where they would face either No. 5 Michigan or No. 1 Auburn for a spot in the Final Four.
