words // Zack Schlemmer
The Michigan State Spartans may have suffered a tough loss yesterday at the hands of UCONN, but that doesn't mean we'll forget about them for our March Madness retrospective of the best-ever sneaker schools of NCAA basketball.
Even with being a Nike-sponsored school since the early 2000's, Michigan State may actually be best known for their years wearing Reebok, when the team was laced with the iconic Question in team colors of white with forest green accents. In fact, the Question-clad team of the 1999-2000 season led by Mateen Cleaves wore the early retro of Allen Iverson's first signature model all the way to the National Championship, placing the Spartan colorway as the second most famous version next to AI's own pairs.
But there's been plenty of other noteworthy kicks throughout the history of the Spartans, so let's take a look at all the best footwear from Magic Johnson's Bata sneakers to this year's players in exclusive versions of the Nike KD VI.
Magic Johnson - Bata - 1978-79
Anthony Miller - Converse Aerojet - 1993
Shawn Respert - Converse Run N' Slam - 1994
Shawn Respert - Converse Run N' Slam II - 1995
Thomas Kelly - Reebok Avant Guard - 1996
Mateen Cleaves - Reebok Reignman II - 1998
Andre Hutson - Reebok Velocity DMX - 1999
Charlie Bell - Reebok Velocity DMX - 1999
Morris Peterson - Reebok Question - 1999
Charlie Bell - Reebok Answer III - 2000
Morris Peterson, Mateen Cleaves - Reebok Question - 2000
Mateen Cleaves - Reebok Question - 2000
Zach Randolph and Teammates - Nike Shox BB4 - 2001
Jason Richardson, Charlie Bell - Nike Air Flightposite II - 2001
Alan Anderson - Nike Air Flightposite III - 2002
Kelvin Torbert - Nike Air Flightposite III - 2002
Kelvin Torbert - Nike Shox Limitless - 2003
Paul Davis - Nike Zoom Huarache 2K4 - 2005
Shannon Brown - Nike Zoom Huarache 2K4 - 2005
Korie Lucious - Nike Hyperdunk - 2008
Raymar Morgan - Nike Zoom BB - 2008
Nike Hyperdunk, Air Bluechip - 2009
Nike Zoom Soldier 4, Air Max Fly By - 2011
Keith Appling, Travis Trice - Nike Zoom Hyperfuse - 2012
Branden Dawson - Nike KD VI - 2013
Denzel Valentine, Branden Dawson - Nike KD VI - 2014
Matt Costello - Nike LeBron XI - 2014
(Images via Yahoo!)