Michigan State legend Cassius Winston participated in the training

The Michigan State men’s basketball team is in the midst of its offseason training and practice program. Typically at this time, much older former Spartans would return to East Lansing to visit coach Tom Izzo and the team, while the newer Michigan State basketball players who have moved on are usually in the National Basketball Association or overseas preparing for the upcoming season.

However, that has not been the case recently, as Michigan State legend Cassius Winston has been attending team practices.

Michigan State’s official team page posted a picture of Winston on X (formerly known as Twitter) last week.

Winston was arguably one of the best and most reliable players to ever play for coach Izzo.

Winston started 108 games for Michigan State. He was named Big Ten Player of the Year and was a unanimous second-team All-American. Winston was also selected to the first-team All-America by the Associated Press and Sporting News.

While at Michigan State University, the United States Basketball Writers Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches named Winston to the All-America second team. During the 2018-19 season, he was named Most Outstanding Player in both the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament East Regional.

That season, Winston also became only the second player in Michigan State history to be named Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Regional Most Outstanding Player and First-Team All-America in the same season. The only other player in the illustrious history of Michigan State basketball to accomplish that feat was Morris Peterson, who played nearly 20 years earlier. Winston was undoubtedly one of the best players to ever come out of East Lansing.

Winston is also the program’s all-time leading assist player and ranks sixth in total points.

Few players have been as important to Coach Izzo and Michigan State’s success in East Lansing as Winston. His presence on campus is undoubtedly one that Coach Izzo appreciates, as Winston can provide valuable insight to the younger players he currently brings with him. As Coach Izzo looks to continue to build the culture in East Lansing, the return of former players will only make that possible, especially former players with as much credibility as Winston.

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