Michigan State Men's Head Basketball Coach Tom Izzo speaks to the crowd before the start of the Izzo Legacy 5K run Sunday, April 27, 2025. Robert Killips | Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Significance of MSU's Grind Week

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Carter Landis | Last updated Sep 7, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The Michigan State Spartans basketball team is hosting its annual ‘Grind Week,’ where former MSU greats come back to campus, work out on the court, and offer advice to the current players.

Tom Izzo has held the event for the past few seasons, and it has been a resounding success. Izzo has created a culture in East Lansing that players want to remain a part of for their entire lives.

The Spartans are coming off a run to the Elite Eight, so getting advice from players who have reached a Final Four before should be helpful as the team looks to advance even farther in the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26.

MSU is a blue blood in the college basketball landscape. Izzo’s program is championship-pedigree, and events like Grind Week do not happen at other programs.

As is the case every year, multiple Spartans are back to shoot hoops and improve their games, including Draymond Green, Xavier Tillman, Kalin Lucas, Korie Luscious, and many more.

Grind Week

Having players who have won at several levels of the game of basketball is valuable for the current team, as the Spartans on this year’s roster are learning how to win and improving their own games.

Not only is it important to have former players back on campus to help the young Spartans, but bringing them back and reaffirming their Spartan brotherhood is important to Izzo.

MSU has recruits visiting this weekend, so not only are former and current Spartans participating in Grind Week, but potential future Spartans are getting a feel for the culture, too.

Early September is an exciting time in East Lansing. Past and present Spartans gather for Grind Week, while the football team is beginning play.

All the Spartans get the chance to gather at Spartan Stadium on Saturday to check out the football game, and the brotherhood reaches across all MSU athletics.

New Athletic Director J Batt should embrace Grind Week and use it as a fundraising tool. He can, in turn, bring more money into the basketball program.

Grind Week is an important time for the Spartan basketball team, past and present. It helps current players improve, while reminding former players that they are Spartan Dawgs for Life.

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This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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