State Of Siege

Izzo's values reflect the years he spent working for Heathcote. "Jud made me who I am: He was big on the program. I think in our profession too many times the coach thinks he's bigger than the program." But Izzo has departed from Heathcote orthodoxy in two basic ways. To win his title, he all but mothballed Heathcote's old matchup zone, preferring a man-to-man that kept his players in an attacking frame of mind. And unlike his predecessor, Izzo sent four players to the offensive glass, a policy that helped Michigan State lead the nation in rebounding margin, at +12.9. Their grinding persistence reflects the blue-collar beginnings of their coach, who grew up in Iron Mountain, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, working for the carpet business founded by his grandfather (Tony Izzo and Sons and Grandsons). As Michigan State's six-game tournament run proved, it's a mentality that's equally applicable to the half-court or to 94 feet, to setting a screen or filling a lane, to lighting a guy up or shutting him down.

No one embodied that mind-set better than Cleaves. At any speed, on every plank of the floor, he brought his physical and mental strength to bear. "Of all the things I love about this kid," Izzo said, "I most like that he's able to take criticism."

Taking criticism is simply a matter of knowing what's incomplete so it might be finished. "I saw them coming three years ago," Wisconsin's Bennett said last week. On Monday night he and the rest of college basketball watched the Spartans arrive, in a rush, as one.