[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 41 (Wednesday, April 5, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H1824-H1825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SPARTANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today here in Washington, D.C. to 
display the championship, the national championship T-shirt, of the MSU 
Spartans.
  Today, in my hometown of Lansing, there has been a wonderful parade 
going from the State capital out to Michigan State University where 
thousands of people have joined together to recognize the team that we 
are so proud of, young men not only who have excelled on the court but 
off the court as well.
  I want to congratulate the Michigan State Spartan basketball team on 
their national championship victory in Monday night's NCAA title game. 
Led by senior point guard Mateen Cleaves, who showed the heart of a 
champion by returning from an early second half ankle injury, the 
Spartans capped a 32-7 season by beating Florida 89-76. All MSU alumni 
watched with pride, including me, as the Spartans claimed their 
rightful place as the national champions.
  Founded in 1855, Michigan State University has a rich history of 
providing educational opportunities to undergrads of diverse interests, 
abilities, and backgrounds. The Spartans now add another national 
basketball title to their world class academic reputation. The pride of 
East Lansing is now the pride of the entire State of Michigan and the 
entire country.
  It is with great joy, Mr. Speaker, as a graduate of MSU, that I take 
to the floor today to say, Way to go, Spartans. Congratulations to the 
players, the coaches, the staff, and the parents of this national 
championship team.

                              {time}  1745

  World class academics are now joined by a second national basketball 
title to underscore the MSU is one of the country's finest academic and 
athletic institutions. Let me just speak for a moment about the year.
  This win is especially sweet given the loss to Duke in last year's 
Final Four. In many ways, Monday night's game was representative of the 
entire season. There were great expectations in Lansing last November, 
as a senior-led experienced team prepared for the upcoming campaign.
  However, this great promise was followed by adversity, as Mateen 
would miss the first 13 games recovering from a stress fracture in his 
right foot.
  Instead of reeling from his absence, the Spartans did what they do, 
they learned how to win without Mateen going 9 to 4 during that stretch 
and allowing the sensational Mo Pete as we like to call him, Morris 
Peterson to further develop his all around game while receiving steady 
efforts from senior forward A.J. Granger, junior guard Charlie Bell and 
center Andre Hutson. Led by the great coaching of Tom Izzo, who is a 
native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and he has been coaching on 
the staff at MSU for 17 years, the Spartans overcame this obstacle with 
talent and determined effort and entered the grueling Big 10 conference 
play with even more confidence in their abilities.
  They completed conference play as co-champions and won the Big 10 
conference tournament in Chicago, earning the number one seed in the 
Midwest Region.
  The lessons learned early on would pay off down the road, for after 
easily dispatching Valparaiso in the first round, Michigan State played 
three tough games in a row, starting with a

[[Page H1825]]

comeback win from a half-time deficit against Utah to reach the Sweet 
16.
  Next, before a friendly ground in Auburn Hills, Michigan, the 
Spartans staged one of the most dramatic one half turnarounds in recent 
tournament memory, erasing a 14-point second-half deficit in handing 
the Syracuse Orangemen a 75 to 58 loss. Then they capped it, their run 
to the Final Four, by again rallying late against Iowa State defeating 
the Cyclones 75-64.
  The Final Four presented its old and new obstacles. To get to the 
finals, they had to beat Wisconsin. They persevered against the 
defensive-oriented style of the Badgers before facing the young, fast 
and deep Florida Gators in the final.
  Mateen led the way in the first half of the final game, helping the 
Spartans to routinely shed the daunting Florida full-court press while 
scoring 13 points. However, when he went down with an ankle injury, his 
teammates responded again. The six-foot nine reserve forward, Mike 
Chappell, knocked down a key three-pointer and freshman Al Anagoyne was 
a forceful inside presence.
  Jason Richardson scored 9 points in 16 minutes, while Adam Ballinger 
added key minutes. David Thomas and Matt Ishiba also saw action and, 
importantly, with Steve Cherry and Brandon Smith, rounded out a roster 
that worked hard all year and pushed the starters hard in practice. All 
in all, the bench scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, an effort 
Coach Izzo termed awesome.
  Mr. Speaker, this is what college sports is supposed to be about, 
student athletes that we are proud of on the field, as well as off the 
field. I see my colleagues here today from Flint. We have what we like 
to call the Flintstones, awesome young men who worked as a team whose 
dreams growing up were to win a national championship after playing 
together on the basketball courts and the recreation centers in Flint. 
They took it all the way. And we are very, very proud of them. Go 
Spartans.

                          ____________________