Does anyone else miss Cassius Winston as much as I do? I don’t think we realized how spoiled we were in the moment we witnessed his greatness, but now, four years later, I think we truly understand just how amazing a person he was.
Unfortunately, his elite career came to a premature end due to COVID-19.
Although Winston’s Michigan State basketball career was cut short, we were able to witness countless great moments throughout his career.
Here are my top five picks from his illustrious career.
No. 5 is the iconic half-court shot Winston made at Maryland during his senior season.
With just four weeks until kickoff, let’s begin the countdown of my favorite @MSU_Basketball plays in recent memory.
28. Cassius Winston makes a buzzer-beating half-court shot to extend Maryland’s lead to 11. #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/YBml9YruDs
— Dunk🌎 (@SpartyWRLD) October 10, 2022
There was so much significance to this play, so let’s take a closer look.
Looking at the game itself, that half-court shot to end the first half essentially ended any chance Maryland had of a comeback in the second half. It gave the Spartans an 11-point lead and shifted all of the momentum to Michigan State. Could Maryland have made a comeback? Sure. But after that shot, I knew the game was over.
But the shot had even more meaning to the season as a whole. When we look back at the 2019-20 season, we remember Michigan State winning its third straight Big Ten Conference title and being one of the favorites to win the national championship before the pandemic. But it wasn’t always that way.
The Spartans were actually struggling a bit coming into this game, with Maryland trailing considerably in the Big Ten standings, but this shot and the ensuing win propelled Michigan State for the rest of the season. The Spartans were stronger than ever, Maryland staggered to the finish line, and Michigan State claimed a share of the Big Ten championship.