Spartans Celebrate 25th Anniversary Of 1979 NCAA Championship
3/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 26, 2004
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EAST LANSING, Mich. - It is one of the rare, legendary moments in sports history that remains timeless, the images from which remain vividly captured in memory and clearly caught on film, where they have appeared in countless newspapers and on the glossy pages of books and magazines for decades.
That victorious moment occurred when a wave of surreal elation washed over the sweat-soaked members of the 1979 Michigan State men's basketball team, as they absorbed the realization that they had just defeated Indiana State to clench the first NCAA Championship title in the history of Spartan basketball.
And as MSU head coach Jud Heathcote shared in the flood of emotion that followed the winning moment, he knew that the significance of the victory, which marked the first national title in his 27-year coaching career as well, would only grow.
"After the win, I told all the guys in the locker room, 'This means a great deal to you now, but believe it or not, as the years pass, it will mean more to you,'" Heathcote said.
Although the Spartans listened, it would be years before many of them began to appreciate the validity of what their coach had foretold.
"Coach told us that we wouldn't know just how big and magnificent this win really was until years and years went by," said Greg Kelser. "We knew what he was saying about the victory getting bigger and we believed it too, but he was speaking from a point of experience that we just didn't have. Only now do I fully understand what he meant."
"At the time, I was just a kid, a sophomore at State living in West Wilson Hall," said Mike Brkovich. "Sometimes, when I look back, I can't believe that it actually did happen to me. I can't believe that I was a member of a national championship team, and it truly was a privilege to be a part of it."
Certainly, it could not have been easy for such a young group of champions to envision the lasting effect of its victory. The Spartans could hardly believe the events that immediately followed the win.
"I remember getting on the plane on the way back from having won," said Terry Donnelly. "And we had heard that there might be a couple of hundred people waiting for us at the airport, but we looked out the windows as the plane hit the ground and, lo-and-behold, there were thousands of people yelling and screaming. It was kind of overwhelming, to tell you the truth."
In fact, winning the championship was such a big deal that the night of the championship game, MSU didn't even go out afterward to celebrate the win.
"I still remember after the win," said Heathcote. "I told Earvin (Johnson) and Gregory Kelser, 'Hey, you guys have earned it, tell the guys they can go out and celebrate tonight, no curfew.' And they just said, 'Coach, we are so tired, we are going right to bed. We are going to celebrate when we get back to East Lansing.'"
 1979 Final Four Program  | |
"To tell you the truth, after we won, I went home and went to bed," said Donnelly. "But I have been partying ever since."
"The feeling I had after that win was the biggest emotion that I can remember," said Kelser. "My immediate reaction was relief. I was relieved that we could finally turn off the engine, knowing that we could shut it down because it was done and we did it."
That engine, the Spartans' vehicle to success, was a will to win. Their drive to succeed was so strong that, in reminiscing about the championship win, memories inevitably surface about what it took for MSU to reach that elite level of success.
"In retrospect, you can only begin to grasp the magnitude of this win when you look back to realize all that was involved," said Kelser. "The sweat, the blood, the long hours, the boring moments; you realize everything that went into it."
And going into that championship game, the Spartans had overcome quite an obstacle, having been 4-4 in the Big Ten mid-season, before they stormed opponents to win 10 straight games just before the NCAA Tournament.
"We peaked at the right time," said Heathcote. "We reeled off 10 straight wins and then at tournament time, we won five games quite easily."
Some point to a change in the lineup that made Brkovich a starter as the turning point in the team's chemistry that led to the championship.
 Jud Heathcote led the Spartans to the 1979 title. | |
"The clubs in the Big Ten had us pretty well scouted," said Heathcote. "They were neutralizing Earvin, who was clearly the leader on the floor. The position change enabled Earvin to assume his previous role, kind of controlling the tempo of the game."
Teammates remember the crucial role that Johnson played to the squad's success.
"Earvin's passing brought a dimension of unselfishness into college basketball," said Brkovich. "Not many people realize one of the key things that he did. He had this unique talent that he actually made you a better player, just by being on the floor with him."
But equally important was a team understanding of the importance of each individual's role.
"Each player knew his specific role on the team," said Donnelly. "But we really were as one. We had our two superstars, Earvin Johnson and Greg Kelser, and the rest were considered a supporting cast, but we didn't feel that way."
"When we were 4-4 in the Big Ten, it kind of got to the point where we had to play together to accept our limitations," said Brkovich. "Everybody accepted the role that he played and that helped us to be a much better team."
"We were an integral part of a big machine," said Donnelly. "Everybody had his little part to do and if we all did it, we won, so that is what we did."
MSU's ability to embrace a mentality that stressed each player's specific value to the team illustrates the team chemistry that contributed to Spartan success that season.
"There were a lot of teams out there who probably had a lot better physical talents and abilities than we did," said Donnelly. "But we were a cohesive unit and I think that is why we were able to overcome some obstacles and win."
The Spartans' chemistry entailed a high level of closeness off the court as well.
"We were so close and there were no cliques," said Kelser. "If we went to the movies, everybody went to the movies. If we went to dinner, everybody went to dinner. And this was not necessarily by design because we never talked about it, we just did it. We just enjoyed each other."
 Earvin "Magic" Johnson was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1979 Final Four. | |
"We were on planes together, we shared hotel rooms together, we practiced for three or four hours a day together and it was basically like living with 12 guys," said Donnelly. "Even outside of games and practices, we did a lot together as a group, like going to different bars and restaurants, at home and on the road."
The Spartans attribute their success to more than team chemistry and individual ability, pointing to Heathcote's unique coaching style as a key element that contributed to their achievements.
"Coach Heathcote had this incredible analytic ability to prepare us for any opponent," said Brkovich. "If he watched a team, he could dissect the game to find strengths and weaknesses. His coaching style was definitely unique, in the way that he could prepare us for an opponent, and that is what makes him a great coach."
Equally meticulous in scrutinizing his own squad, Heathcote was masterful at making decisions that would reverberate with the team's natural chemistry.
"We had good chemistry all the time," Heathcote said. "But sometimes you need more than team chemistry. You have to figure how you are going to play the best with what you have and that is what we did."
Determining the best way to win would have been fruitless without the intense dedication that Heathcote and his team embraced.
"Coach Heathcote was a no-nonsense coach who worked very hard," said Kelser. "He set an example because he never asked for any more than what he would put in and, as a team, we just sort of assumed his hardworking personality."
"We talked about how everyone should have to focus on working as hard as possible," said Heathcote. "But we focused on how the program was bigger than any one person."
Playing in a way that was consistent with the attitude that the program was bigger than any individual led the Spartans to a victory that was bigger than the program itself.
"It took a little while before it hit me that I was part of achieving something that was not only special for the university, but also for the state of Michigan," said Donnelly.
The win was made even bigger by the media frenzy that could barely satiate a captivated nation's high level of interest surrounding the NCAA tournament.
"At that time, the Final Four was just kind of blossoming as a media event," said Heathcote. "The match-up between Earvin 'Magic' Johnson and the 'Birdman,' as Larry Bird was called, enthralled people so much that media personnel were writing stories about the match up, even before the semi-final games, assuming that both Michigan State and Indiana State would make it to the final round."
Many media assumptions were confirmed when it was determined that MSU, the team on a winning streak, would face Indiana State, which boasted a 33-0 undefeated record, in the contest for the championship title.
And while the Spartans were aware of the national interest that their team had generated, their focus remained concentrated on victory.
"When you are focused on winning a championship, you don't really see what is going on peripherally," said Donnelly.
"The biggest thing that allowed us to be successful was that we all shared the desire to win," said Kelser. "We wanted to win and we wanted to win big and that made us a very close-knit group even before we did it."
For as close as the squad was before the win, the bonds established while participating in MSU basketball have remained just as strong, if not stronger, since the championship win.
In fact, members of the 1978-79 team gathered in East Lansing for their 25-year reunion, in early November 2003.
"When we assembled for our 25-year reunion, it was as if we had never been away from one another," said Brkovich. "The bond is still there and it is actually quite funny to see how that team chemistry has persisted all of these years. Especially when you have gone through so much to get there, the memory of winning the championship never fades."
And while the championship moment that made Spartan basketball history in 1979 may be unforgettable, the team itself is what is truly timeless.
"It is strange for all of us when we get back together," said Kelser, "It is like no time has elapsed at all. We clown, we joke, and we laugh, just like we did back then. At the reunion, Terry Donnelly and I were talking about how it is almost depressing when the reunion ends because we have to go our separate ways and we hate to know how long we might have to wait before the next time we will be back together again."
By, Adrienne LaFrance
