Szymon Zapala New to MSU But Quite Familiar With NCAA Tournament
Michigan State men's basketball has a standard that a lot of other programs don't.
With 26-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, Coach Tom Izzo and his program are expected to make the Big Dance every year.
Transfer center Szymon Zapala is now joining that culture, and while he is new to the program, he is very used to the standard.
Zapala, who has been to the NCAA Tournament three times before, told me at the 2024 Moneyball Pro-Am on Thursday that it is "exciting" to know he could get back to that point with his new team.
"It's an amazing experience some people don't even get to experience once in their life," Zapala said. "So, I'm excited for this year. Nothing's guaranteed, nothing is given, we've got to fight for it and take it. But we're ready to fight for it because we know what's at stake. So, yeah, I think what is the most exciting is the goal is not just to get there, the goal is to go there and win there and show what Michigan State is about. ... I'm pumped up about it; I can't wait to play."
Zapala helped lead Longwood University to the tournament last season, where it fell to the No. 1-seeded Houston as a 16 seed in the first round. He had transferred to Longwood after spending three seasons at Utah State, where he made the tournament twice.
Zapala and the Aggies made the tournament in his very first year with the program, ultimately falling to Texas Tech in the first round. In Zapala's final season with Utah State, the Aggies made it again but lost to Missouri in the first round.
In his lone season with Longwood, Zapala averaged 9.8 points per game, 5.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in his 35 games with the Lancers. He made 24 starts with the program.
Zapala is a 7-foot center, a build that many had hoped Izzo would seek in the the tranfer portal this offseason. He did just that by adding Zapala. Izzo had also added transfer wing Frankie Fidler shortly before that.
The two transfer commits were Izzo's first since former Spartan guard Tyson Walker in 2021.
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