Michigan State University
Former Spartans crash the party, become the party
09:59, 2006-May-18
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Chris Boykins brought his popular Outlawz up from Lansing again, and this time they had a decidedly green feel despite wearing white jerseys and shorts with blue stripes that looked eerily similar to the Kentucky Wildcats.Four former Michigan State Spartans made the trip north to play in the 42nd annual Negaunee Invitational Basketball Tournament Class A competition being held this weekend at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium.
Escanaba’s Andy Harvey was the local flavor, but former Spartans Tim Bograkos, Jason Andreas and DeJuan Wiley also joined him in his return trip to the Upper Peninsula.
“Getting a chance to play with some of my old teammates, bringing them up, showing them the U.P., it’s fun,” Harvey said, adding, “But we’re here to win.”
The U.P. team featured recent Northern Michigan University players David Noel and Nick Buck, while Boone Bell and Kyle Rundman were also familiar faces.
But still, the Outlawz were the fan favorites for students from Lakeview Elementary in attendance, and it was apparent why when the Outlawz tossed souvenirs into the stands after the game.
Led by Wiley’s 20 points, the Outlawz put on a show and won 93-79. Andreas drained 19, Bograkos nine and Harvey three.
“We were a little rusty,” Harvey said. “Some of the guys came up at 5:30 in the morning (Friday), so they were a little stiff, even though me and my State guys, we came up yesterday. So we had a little bit of juice in our legs.”
The players all participate in recreational leagues around the Lansing area, but not always on the same team.
“I could see them a lot during the year, but we don’t really play with each other all that much,” Bograkos said. “It’s just nice to be back on the court with them and the rest of the guys.”
Though some may only be in the Lansing area for a few months during the summer, returning to their college roots is an important part of being a Spartan, Andreas said.
“We keep in touch with the program that way, the young guys,” he said. “It really is a family down there. A lot of colleges don’t have that experience. Once you graduate, you kind of never really go back and spend some time with your old coaches, your old teammates, spend some time on your old campus, things like that. It’s special for us to say we’re Spartans, because we’re able to keep that family tradition up. We feel good playing on the court together.”
For both Bograkos and Andreas, it was a first trip to the U.P. But with former coach Tom Izzo being an Iron Mountain native, it certainly wasn’t the first they’d heard about it.
“Coach Izzo was always telling us stories about the U.P.,” Andreas said.
“We spent the night down in Escanaba. It’s my first time in Negaunee. (Friday) night we’re going to Marquette. It’s nice. It’s exciting.”
News that might be a bit jolting to the local Finlanders, Andreas compared the Upper Peninsula to Sweden, where his spent his first year of professional basketball.
“Just the scenery, it’s real natural,” he said. “A lot of trees. It’s beautiful up here. I really like it so far.”
The Spartans all expected their former team to be successful in the future after it fell short in the NCAA tournament this year.
“I think they’ll be good,” Bograkos said. “They have a lot of talent coming in in the next year. They’ll get back to being the top team in the country.”
Andreas added that there is always a lot of pressure put on Michigan State players because of the past successes the program has seen, but he expects MSU to be fine.
“We’ve got a lot of good recruits coming in this year,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of recruits in the future. Obviously the Big 10 is a good conference, it’s going to be challenging. But we’re going to be fine.
“The reason people go to Michigan State is to win championships, and that’s the kind of tradition we’re trying to build down there.”
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