Defend, rebound and run. This is the mantra for three basketball teams on Michigan State’s campus. The men’s and women’s NCAA Spartan basketball programs, and the Fighting Narwhals of MSU’s graduate student and faculty intramural basketball league.
A hard-nosed style of play, inspired by MSU Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo and NBA champion Draymond Green, is just one reason that helped the Narwhals win back-to-back IM championships.
The average Narwhal can grow up to 18 feet in length, and while no one on the team is close to being that tall, the rotations the Narwhals use are synonymous with the name in IM basketball terms.
“We got a lot of really good guys, we have a ton of height,” said Michael Brown, a MSU Mathematics teaching specialist and Narwhals point guard. “We have a lineup where I am the shortest guy on the court, and I am 6-foot-3. Height is a huge advantage in intramural sports.”
Plant Biology instructor John Mugg is a newer member of the Narwhals, but familiar with the IM basketball scene. In each of the five decades 66-year old Mugg has played organized basketball, he has won a championship. His current goal is to get one in the 2030s.
Standing 6-feet tall, Mugg adds an outside shooting dynamic to a team that likes to pack the paint. Brown runs the show as a pass-first guard, and he described Mugg as having one of the best jump shots he has seen on campus since his college days. Both Mugg and Brown agreed that this is the best group they have seen together in the team’s history.
“I am a three point shooter, I like to space the floor,” Mugg said. “I think we will be great this year, we have the same guys from last season and we beat one of the better teams in the league pretty handily.”
Fellow Mathematics teaching specialist Andy Krause predates both Brown and Mugg on the team, joining the Narwhals in 2013. Over a decade later, they are on the doorstep of the program’s first ever three-peat, highlighted by the best scoring defense in the league.
“We have played together a lot, and we can all guard four positions,” the 6-foot-2 Krause said. “We switch all game, and we really just focus on ball pressure. We are looking to disrupt tempo and we want their primary ball handler to not bring the ball up the court. We end up winning by grinding it out.”
The Narwhals only allow 29.6 points per game, the best rank in the league three games into the season.
“I think we’re a very tough team,” said Brown. “We play a defensive style inspired by the late 1990s and early 2000s that was a little more physical than it is now. That is really one of our best assets.”
Brown isn’t just a teacher that plays basketball. He is also a DJ in the electronic music scene. Doing all these different things has helped him understand that putting in the work is the most important part of getting better at anything in life. This is something that he wants to share with opposing students on the court, since his team is made up of all faculty members.
“To be honest, I like to talk shit,” Brown said. “I think that it connects me with students because it allows them to not take it easy on me. It comes with a level of respect. It also helps me remove the suit and tie and gives me something to talk about with my students.”
Mugg has been a part of a long history of iconic intramural basketball at MSU. He has shared the hardwood with legends such as Durrell Summers and Scott Skiles to Eric Snow. Recently, Mugg has been reminiscing about his successful career at 393 Chestnut Road, with the current IM West building scheduled to be torn down for a new one across from the Breslin Center.
“It is sad for me to think about that place being torn down,” Mugg said. “It’s been over 47 years since I have been going up there.”
The Fighting Narwhals are off to a perfect 3-0 start in 2025, leading the entire league. The road back to Breslin is a long one, but the three-peat dreams are alive and healthy for the Narwhals.