Mateen Cleaves
Source: www.blog.mlive.com
Mateen Cleaves was never the most talented player. He was never the fastest. He was never the most explosive. He was never a good shooter. Yet, during the 1999- 2000 US NCAA season, he was arguably, the mot popular and the most recognized college baller in the whole country. He was simply on top of the world as he led his Michigan State Spartans to a National Title.
Mateen Cleaves may not have been the most gifted basketball player ever but he did have the intangibles that most players did not have. Mateen had superb leadership skills and was an incredibly charismatic person. These intangibles helped him bring out the best out of his teammates. As a result, the whole team achieved what they were supposed to do and they marched all the way to the National title game to face the confident but still young Florida Gators who were led by sharpshooter Mike Miller and rebounding demon Udonis Haslem.
From the get go, Michigan State played fantastic basketball and they were very much in control due to the brilliance of their team captain Mateen Cleaves. They were the much favored team to win the title, but as we all know, in a game like this, anything is possible. And so, with 16 minutes and 18 seconds left in the second half, the only thing that could jeopardize everything happened. Mateen Cleaves sprained his ankle. All of a sudden, Michigan State was in trouble even if they still had the lead. The team captain was down and was in severe pain. He was limping and he had to be carried off the court. Florida was already making their run and they had already cut the double digit lead of MSU down to six. In other words, momentum was on Florida’s side.
At that point, it really looked like Florida was poised to make a furious comeback. It was like watching a basketball movie where the star player goes down and everyone’s energy has been zapped out. Yet, there was also that general feeling that even with that accident, Michigan State would still be able to pull it off. It was like that part in Transformers 3 when Optimus Prime was not there and everyone was in deep trouble. Yet, as a viewer, you knew that it wouldn’t end that way.
True enough, it didn’t. Mateen’s investment on his teammates paid off at the right time for they all stepped up. Charlie Bell ran the show at the point and Morris Peterson took charge of the scoring chores. Then, four minutes of basketball time later, a miracle happened. Doing an Optimus Prime, Mateen Cleaves, limping and all went back and led the Spartans to a 16-6 run. This run literally killed the morale of the Florida Gators and the Michigan State Spartans won the game, 89- 76 and were named the 2000 NCAA National Champions. After all the drama, Mateen Cleaves did what he came back for and brought his school its second national title. The first one was in 1979, as a guy named Magic Johnson led the Spartans to a title.
Mateen was also named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four and cemented his legacy forever. This championship was Mateen Cleaves’ one shining moment.
Everyone was happy and was moved by what they just witnessed. My brother and I were fortunate enough to have seen that game on TV. The impact of this game was so big that it allowed Mateen Cleaves to be selected in the lottery by his hometown team the Detroit Pistons, 14th overall in the 2000 NBA draft.
There were so many question marks regarding Mateen’s game but they were all put aside because of what he did. Unfortunately, all of those question marks caught up with him. Mateen did not pan out in the NBA. He bounced around with teams like the Pistons, the Kings, and the Sonics. He was often a bench warmer and was eventually, out of the league after a few years. He last played in the NBA Developmental League where he was still looked up to and was well- liked by his younger teammates.
Ironically, the star players that he beat in that championship game namely Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem both had successful NBA careers. Mike Miller was named rookie of the year in the 2000- 2001 season. On the other hand, Udonis Haslem was a big part of the 2006 championship of the Miami Heat.
And so, it was really Mateen’s one shining moment. At least, we all saw how he made the most out of it.
The lesson here for us is that we only have a few chances to do something really great and to experience that one shining moment in our lives. And that is why when those few opportunities come our way, we should make sure that we will not just simply pass on them. We should always seize the moment and seize the day or "carpe diem" as they call it. Because for all we know, we may never get another shot at that one shining moment that we have always wanted.
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