Michigan State basketball star Cassius Winston returning for senior season

EAST LANSING — Coming off a Final Four run and Big Ten title, Mateen Cleaves announced he would return to Michigan State for his senior season on May 6, 1999. Eleven months later, he led the Spartans to Tom Izzo’s only NCAA title.

Cassius Winston hopes to repeat the feat, making the same decision 20 years after Cleaves.

The Big Ten player of the year and All-America point guard – coming off a Final Four appearance earlier this month – announced he will bypass the NBA draft process to come back to MSU for his senior season, with his Spartans considered by a number of early prognosticators a front-runner for the 2020 national championship.

“Playing in the NBA has always been my dream. But I have other dreams as well,” Winston said in a release. “This was an incredible season with an amazing group of teammates, but I believe there is still more to accomplish. From the moment the season ended, I started thinking about what else I could do and how I could improve, to help us reach the goals we want to reach.

“It was surreal to be compared to some of the all-time great Spartans during the tournament because in my mind I still have something left to prove. Those goals will motivate me throughout the offseason. It will always be my goal to play in the NBA, but that’s a dream that can wait a year. I look forward to improving as a player, and continuing to get stronger. I know my teammates are equally committed to improving and I can’t wait for what our future holds.”

The news came shortly after Winston’s classmate, Nick Ward, announced he would not return next season while entering his name in the NBA draft for the second straight season.

The 6-foot-1 Winston earned first-team All-America honors by The Associated Press and Sporting News after averaging 18.8 points, 7.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 33.5 minutes while playing in all 39 games. He was the Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten tournament title, which MSU won over Michigan in the final, and of the NCAA East Region, sending Izzo to his eighth Final Four.

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The Spartans went 32-7, tying the program’s second-most victories, while capturing a share of the Big Ten regular-season title and winning the Big Ten tournament over Michigan. They swept the Wolverines in the regular season for the first three-win year in the history of the rivalry. MSU also defeated Duke for just the second time in 13 tries under Izzo to earn a spot at the Final Four in Minneapolis.

“Cassius and I had some great talks after the season. Our relationship has grown throughout his career, and this process has only taken it to another level,” Izzo said in a release. “I was in full support of Cassius entering his name in the NBA draft process, because I know that’s his dream. But I’ve come to understand that he also has some other dreams. Since the Final Four, he’s been talking about the goals he has both for himself and the team. Cassius is an unbelievably smart player, so he knows that there are no guarantees. But he’s willing to work to improve and better himself and his team for next year and beyond.

“As a coach the ultimate goal is to get to watch a player live his dreams. So if Cassius dreams of becoming one of the best players in Spartan basketball history and leaving a legacy, I look forward to doing everything I can to help him make that a reality.” 

Contact Chris Solari at csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.