Magic talks NBA, Michigan State

Magic Johnson speaks to the crowd about business, working hard and basketball Monday, Nov. 9, at Mercy HealthPlex in Fairfield.

Staff photo by Nick Graham Magic Johnson speaks to the crowd about business, working hard and basketball Monday, Nov. 9, at Mercy HealthPlex in Fairfield.

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One-on-one with Magic Johnson

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By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer Updated 8:31 AM Thursday, November 12, 2009

FAIRFIELD — Magic Johnson and Larry Bird helped revolutionize the NBA in the 1980s, and it started with the 1979 NCAA championship game.

The epic battle between Magic and Bird has been well documented and publicized, as has their battles in the NBA.

Johnson came on Monday, Nov. 9, to Fairfield’s Mercy HealthPlex to talk about his book, “32 Ways to be a Champion in Business.” That book came out in November 2008. But released this month is “When the Game was Ours” by Johnson and Bird with sports writer Jackie MacMullen.

What are your impressions on today’s NBA?

It’s in great hands. We have to be so happy we have LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and Dewayne Wade and Carmello Anthony and Chris Paul. We have some really great young superstars. And we have some great teams, Cleveland and Orlando and Boston in the East has just helped the league grow. And then we have some great teams like Toronto and Atlanta after them.

In the west, the Lakers, San Antonio and Denver are the top three teams, but then you have Dallas and Houston and Portland, a nice great group of of talent in Portland.

The game is in great hands right now. We just have to continue to promote our young stars, but also promote the teams at the same time.

What current NBA player most resembles your style?

It has to be LeBron. We’re both about the same height. We score different, but we play the same. We both see the court, we make the pass, we make the play. We both make our teammates better — and we both like to smile a lot.

What are your thoughts on your Michigan State Spartans?

It’s a strong team, and a team that will really take advantage of going to the national championship game last season. They have four starters back and the top three or four reserves off the bench coming back. This is a team that’s going to be deep, fast, quick and can shoot. I just think Michigan State is just going to have an outstanding season.

The thing I really love about Michigan State is that Coach (Tom) Izzo is really one of the top two or three coaches in all of college basketball. But the Big Ten is loaded. We have some outstanding teams in the Big Ten.

Which team is going to be the biggest challenge for Michigan State?

The biggest challenge will be Purdue, without a doubt. They got everybody coming back, too, and it was a dog fight to the end to see who was going to win the conference. But those other teams have improved a lot. Michigan played a lot of young guys. Ohio State, they do a great job with recruiting, so they’ll be good again. Minnesota is going to be good. These teams are good, this is not going to be a cakewalk. Michigan State’s going to have to play every single night because the Big Ten is better.

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.