Michigan State basketball: 5 great Spartans who didn’t live up to the NBA hype

3. Michigan State basketball busts: Morris Peterson

A beloved member of Tom Izzo’s first national championship team, Morris Peterson was truly one of Michigan State’s best players in the late 1990s. Playing alongside Mateen Cleaves, Peterson helped the Spartans reach back-to-back Final Fours as a junior and senior.

The highlight of Peterson’s career came as a senior in 2000, when he was the Big Ten Player of the Year and won a championship. Peterson, a second-team All-American and the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, left school as a living legend.

The accolades helped boost Peterson’s draft stock and he was chosen 21st overall by the Toronto Raptors in 2000. Peterson became a solid starter in Toronto, making the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team in 2001, but he never made the leap to a truly great player.

After spending seven years in Toronto Peterson signed a four-year deal worth $23 million with the New Orleans Hornets. That contract didn’t offer a ton of value for New Orleans, which saw Peterson decline into becoming more of a role player.

Peterson did last 11 years in the NBA, which is a nice accomplishment, but he never made an All-Star team or become more than the third-best player on his team. Considering how much Peterson accomplished at Michigan State this was a disappointing turn of events.