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Spartans Wrapped: A Recap of 2024 Michigan State Basketball

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Spartans Wrapped: A Recap of 2024 Michigan State Basketball


With the year winding down, let’s reflect on the rollercoaster 2024 for Michigan State Basketball.

Michigan State started the new year with optimism, even with a record of 8-5. It seemed like the Spartans had recovered from the nightmare start to the season with a win over No. 6 Baylor in Detroit. 

However, once Big Ten play got into full swing the Spartans regressed to the team they were at the beginning of the season. 

After back-to-back road losses to Northwestern and Illinois, the Spartans were at rock bottom, 1-4 in conference play and 9-7 overall, on the wrong side of the tournament bubble with two months remaining.

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On Jan. 30, Michigan State beat the Michigan Wolverines 81-62, clinching Coach Tom Izzo’s 700th win as head coach.

By the middle of February, The Spartans proved they could hang with the best in the conference after beating No. 10 Illinois 88-80 at the Breslin Center.

Then the Spartans regressed again, losing three straight games by less than 7 points. Their season would conclude with a frustrating loss to two-time Naismith Player of the Year, Zach Edey, and the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers. 

Despite a 30-point effort from Walker, Michigan State lost their final regular season game to the Indiana Hoosiers, 65-64. Finishing the regular season 18-13 and 10-10 in conference play.

The Spartans needed at least one win in the Big Ten Tournament to feel confident about their chances of making the NCAA tournament for the 26th straight season under Tom Izzo.

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They would avenge their regular season loss against the Golden Gophers, beating them in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament and solidifying a trip to March Madness. 

After starting the season as the No. 4 team in the country, the Spartans ended with the No. 9 seed in their region, a far fall from contention for a national title.

But Michigan State handled the No. 8 seed Mississippi State out of the SEC. With the first-round win, the Spartans were rewarded with playing the No.1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Spartans came out hot, taking an early 12-point lead; it looked like another vintage Izzo upset in March until the Tar Heels woke up. Eventually, North Carolina caught fire from range and took care of Michigan State, ending a wild season for the Spartans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Izzo came under fire for his squad not living up to expectations. Many fans criticized his reluctance to use the transfer portal as a reason why the Spartans floundered.

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So over the summer, Izzo changed his recruiting philosophy and dipped into the portal. He didn’t pick up big names but found players like forward Frankie Fiddler from Omaha and center Syzmon Zapala from Utah State. 

The overall sentiment from critics was that these additions wouldn’t be enough to replace the departing talent from seniors like Hall and Walker. As well as losing guard A.J. Hoggard and center Mady Sissoko to the portal. 

But Izzo stayed the course, trusting that his young squad would develop over the course of the season.

There were a lot of questions heading into the 2024-25 season and the picture wasn’t so clear early on.

Especially after scraping by with a close win against Bowling Green and getting crushed by Kansas in the Champions Classic, there wasn’t much hope for Michigan State to get back to the top of the sport.

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Then there was a turning point for the mood of fans at the Maui Invitational. Izzo made a few lineup adjustments and perimeter shots started to fall. After beating North Carolina in the third-place game, the Spartans reached a high that hadn’t been felt in a while.

The development of the 2023 recruiting class entering their second season and the rise of freshman Jase Richardson have flipped the expectations for this team.

Michigan State continued to impress, taking care of business against mid-majors. The Spartans re-entered the AP Top 25 for the first time in over a year in early December and currently sit at No. 18 in the country with a record of 10-2. 

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.



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Werewolf, trout ruled in ’24. What will be next ‘I voted’ sticker

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Werewolf, trout ruled in ’24. What will be next ‘I voted’ sticker


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The rewarding feeling of wearing an “I Voted” sticker after turning in your ballot is something everyone can relate to.

Michigan voters can take it one step farther and vote on the design for the Election Day tradition.

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The Michigan Department of State announced on March 3 the return of the highly competitive “I Voted” sticker contest in preparation for the state’s general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

“Our first-ever ‘I Voted’ sticker design contest in 2024 was a massive success,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a March 3 release. “This year we look forward to seeing the creative ways Michiganders of all ages celebrate democracy. Submit your entry to help us continue the tradition and get voters excited to cast their ballot this fall.”

Designs are being accepted online via the Secretary of State’s “I Voted” webpage: Michigan.gov/IVotedSticker. On the page, participants may print or download the official entry form.

Design and entry rules, the sticker template, and tips and suggestions are included on the official entry form.

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There are three categories — elementary/middle school (grades K-8), high school (grades 9-12) and Michigan residents of all ages. Designs are due at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 1.

Once submissions are closed, the public may vote for finalists online in June. Winners will be announced and celebrated later in the summer. Winning stickers will be dispersed to local election clerks for the November Election.

In 2024, there were more than 480 submissions, and more than 57,700 voters selected the nine winners, according to the release. Before the contest opened up for a public vote, the Michigan Collegiate Student Advisory Task Force members narrowed the submissions down to 25 semifinalists. 

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Here’s the 2024 winners and rules for the 2026 participants:

What did the winning 2024 ‘I Voted’ sticker designs look like?

Want to enter a design? Here are the ‘I Voted’ sticker contest rules

According to the Secretary of State, here’s what to keep in mind for your sticker:

  • Designs must be completed using official entry form.
  • Designs must include the phrase “I voted” AND be nonpartisan in nature.
  • Artwork must be original, non-AI generated, and not contain copyrighted or trademarked designs.
  • Entries can be created using your preferred method (digital, paint, crayon, mixed media, etc.)
  • Provide as high quality of resolution as possible when submitting your design.
  • There are three categories — elementary/middle school (grades K-8), high school (grades 9-12) and Michigan residents of all ages. You may enter one design in one category.
  • Designs are due at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 1.

Contact Sarah Moore @ smoore@lsj.com



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2 Smoothie King employees fired for refusing to serve customer in Trump hoodie

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2 Smoothie King employees fired for refusing to serve customer in Trump hoodie


Two employees who refused to serve a man and his wife because he was wearing a hoodie with President Trump’s name on it were fired after a video of the heated encounter went viral.

Erika Lindemyer and her husband, Jake, were forced out of a Smoothie King franchise location in Ann Arbor, Michigan, following a fiery clash with two young female workers on Sunday.

Jake and Erika Lindemyer were denied service at a Smoothie King location in Michigan on Sunday. Leftism/X

The employees claimed they didn’t “feel comfortable” serving the couple because of Jake’s pro-Trump hoodie, as captured by Erika in a viral video.

Jake and Erika fired back at the pair and insisted that they were being “discriminated” against based on their “political views.”

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Both of the employees told them to leave. Leftism/X

“We were just wanting a smoothie and you literally looked at us and I asked you if everything was OK and you said ‘We don’t feel comfortable serving you’ because of my husband’s hoodie. That is discrimination,” Erika spat.

“Okay, well, have a great day,” the first employee said.

“That is illegal,” Erika tried to insist again.

“I said Trump discriminates [against] us,” another employee chimed in.

“Okay, well that has nothing to do with us getting a smoothie!” Erika guffawed.

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Erika and Jake claimed they were being discriminated against. Leftism/X

“OK, well that’s who you support though, that’s who you love,” the first employee chided.

“What’s embarrassing is that we’re American citizens and I wanted to get a smoothie,” Erika huffed.

The second employee noted that they “have a right to refuse service” and directed the couple to the exit.

“You asked a question and [the other employee] gave you an answer. Have a great day. Have a great day. The door’s right there,” the second worker said.

The employees said they were “uncomfortable” serving the couple because Jake was wearing a piece of
Trump merchandise. Leftism/X

Erika threatened to call the police while storming out, but it’s unclear if she did.

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In a separate video shared Monday, one of the workers joked that she might’ve “accidentally started a race war” and called on the public to help remove Erika’s video.

“I am a minor and she recorded me without my permission. The people in the comments are all white and they’re all being hella racist, guys, please help me get this video taken down,” she implored.

Smoothie King confirmed that the girls involved in the viral confrontation “are no longer with the business” as of Monday.

The girl posted her own video joking she might’ve “accidentally started a race war.” Leftism/X

“As a brand, Smoothie King is committed to ensuring our stores are a place free of discrimination of any kind, where every guest and team member is treated with care and respect,” the company wrote on X.

The owner of the Ann Arbor franchise location will also enforce “mandatory retraining for all employees that outlines our guest experience standards.”

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In early December, a woman who worked at a Target in California was berated by a customer for wearing a Charlie Kirk “Freedom” T-shirt.

When the employee insisted she was allowed to wear the red shirt, the irate customer accused her of supporting “a racist.”

The medical center where the agitated customer worked was bombarded with upwards of 6,000 “profanity-laced” phone calls after online sleuths doxxed her personal information.





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Opportunity knocks for Michigan’s guards with L.J. Cason out

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Opportunity knocks for Michigan’s guards with L.J. Cason out


Ann Arbor — The Wolverines won the outright Big Ten regular-season title with two games to go, but it came at a great cost.

L.J. Cason, Michigan’s backup point guard and a key piece of the rotation, tore his right ACL in the championship-clinching win at Illinois. Just like that, Cason’s season was over and Michigan was hit with a brutal blow.

But when adversity strikes, opportunity knocks. While the team won’t be the same without Cason, coach Dusty May believes Michigan has backcourt pieces who can step up and make up for the loss.

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“This is a great opportunity for Roddy (Gayle Jr.), Trey (McKenney) and Nimari (Burnett) to play more, and those guys are really good players,” May said Monday. “Our rotation has been nine and nine, I think, is too deep. It’s playing too many guys, if you want to optimize everyone. But we felt like we had nine guys that deserved to play, that gave us a different element.

“We look at this as another challenge, but it’s also an opportunity for guys to play a little bit more, to play longer periods, to play through a mistake, to play a little bit different role. We do feel like these guys are a lot better than they were earlier this year, so we’re prepared to handle whatever comes at us.”

May said he doesn’t know exactly when Cason tore his ACL, and neither does Cason. The sophomore guard fell to the court and got up favoring his right leg on two separate occasions against Illinois.

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The first instance came in the final minute of the first half, when Cason tipped a long rebound ahead and chased it down to start a fast break. After he grabbed the ball in the air and bounced it backward between his legs to a trailing teammate, Cason went down. He got up hobbling, was subbed out and went back to the locker room.

Cason briefly checked back in during the second half and scored a driving layup a minute into his shift. But on Michigan’s next possession, he fell down after trying to score through contact and got up limping again. Shortly after that, Cason motioned to the Michigan bench to be taken out of the game and he exited for good.

“At halftime, the training staff came and said basically he’s passed all of his jump test. He just did the bike. He says he’s 100% ready to go. I was surprised, because I was expecting him to be out,” May said. “I said, ‘What about the test?’ They said both of his knees are loose, so it’s hard. We don’t feel that anything is torn.

“He comes back in. He lands funny again. … It’s unfortunate for him because he was playing so well. When an ACL pops on a noncontact injury, you’re like, ‘Man, what could we have done different?’ When it happens on a funny, quirky play, usually those are the ones that aren’t preventable.”

May added it hasn’t been determined yet when Cason will undergo surgery. Given the typical recovery timeline for a torn ACL ranges anywhere from nine to 12 months, May said Cason redshirting next season is a possibility that’s “on the table.”

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“That’s certainly been discussed as well, and then that impacts the recruiting decision-making,” May said. “But right now, we’re still trying to figure out when he’s going to have it. What’s the timeline? Does it make sense to go ahead and sit out next year? … We haven’t made any definitive decisions, because all the information is so inconclusive.”

Moving forward, the plan isn’t to have just one guy replace Cason, who averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 assists in 18.6 minutes per game, shot 40.2% from 3-point range and served as a facilitator when starting point guard Elliot Cadeau wasn’t on the court. It’ll be a by-committee approach.

That said, Cason’s absence is certainly going to put much more on Cadeau’s shoulders. The Wolverines can ill afford to have Cadeau commit unnecessary fouls and miss long stretches at a time. Without Cason, Cadeau is the one guard who can break down opposing defenses off the dribble and create for others.

“This will force Elliot to be much more solid with his defensive decision-making when it comes to fouling,” May said. “He doesn’t have that insurance policy anymore named L.J. behind him, because L.J. came in and carried the load several games for our group. That’s not there anymore.”

While Burnett, Gayle and McKenney haven’t had to be facilitators in their roles this season, May expressed confidence all three can take on minutes with the ball in their hands and initiate the offense.

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Even beyond the guards, May noted the team has “other capable weapons” who can serve as triggers on offense depending on the matchup, like forwards Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. and big man Aday Mara.

Add it all together, May feels the Wolverines can find a way to absorb the blow, fill the void and forge ahead with Cason sidelined.

“We have enough to overcome what L.J. brought to the team,” May said. “I don’t know if he’s the best backup point guard in the country, but I can’t think of one that’s better. We’re losing a lot, but once again, we’re not going to sit here and look at it from that angle.

“This is an opportunity for all these other guys to do a little bit more, and they’re more than capable. It’s on us to find the right rotations and situations. Without a doubt, we have a lot of confidence in our roster.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

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@jamesbhawkins



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