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Duane Rankin: OFFICIAL: Mateen Cleaves joins Phoenix Suns in player development/leadership assistant. #Suns pic.x.com/a5RX2nQo5V
Who was the first NBA player that you ever met locally that did something for the community that inspired you? Kyle Kuzma: Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson; they used to do a lot of camps in the summertime when they used to come home from the NBA season and overseas and do things like this and would be engaged and be able to touch them. What were some of your earliest recollections of that Flintstones team back then? Kyle Kuzma: They’re just chrome in Michigan. Obviously being from Flint, being a Flintsone at Michigan State; you just followed them naturally just because of the heritage and what they did for the city and the state of Michigan.
Clutch Points: "When I saw [Mo Pete, Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, Andre Hutson] from Flint, Michigan... That was the first thing that opened my eyes to like 'Ah...I want to go there and I want to go to the NBA.'" —Draymond Green (via @PodcastPShow) pic.twitter.com/SVW1hczmYG
"When I saw [Mo Pete, Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, Andre Hutson] from Flint, Michigan... That was the first thing that opened my eyes to like 'Ah...I want to go there and I want to go to the NBA.'"
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 26, 2023
—Draymond Green
(via @PodcastPShow) pic.twitter.com/SVW1hczmYG
Flint Beecher’s own Monte Morris returned to the Moses Lacey Fieldhouse to host his local basketball camp. Kids from 7 to 16 years old came out to learn drills and ball out in front of the newest Detroit Piston and 2-time Beecher state champ. Also at the camp was “Flintstone” Mateen Cleaves who couldn’t pass up the opportunity to speak to the kids today and support Monte and Flint basketball.
SI: So when did the dream of playing die? Ishbia: I still had that dream early in college. I was the third string point guard behind Mateen Cleaves and Charlie Bell. But I realized then that once I was seeing what level these guys were at that I was like, ‘I'm not going to make it in the NBA, but I'm going to try to be the best player I can to be at Michigan State.’ But I worked like I was still going to make it the whole time. And I always felt like the hardest working guy and the worst player on that team. I had to work extremely hard just to maintain the third-string point guard spot.
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Mateen Cleaves and Paul Rivers candidates to join Mat Ishbia with Suns?
Following Ishbia’s purchase of the Suns, two names have emerged as potential candidates to join the Suns, according to various NBA executives who’ve spoken with HoopsHype: Former Thunder Vice President and Chief of Staff Paul Rivers and former NBA point guard Mateen Cleaves, who was Ishbia’s teammate during Michigan State’s national championship run in 2000.
“To be mentioned with guys like Mateen Cleaves, Magic Johnson, Steve Smith, Bubba Smith and Kirk Gibson is absolutely mind-blowing to me,” Green said in a statement. “It’s an incredible honor. Michigan State was my dream school since I was a child, but the Hall of Fame never even crossed my mind.”
A jury has acquitted former Michigan State basketball star Mateen Cleaves of sexual assault and other charges. The verdict Tuesday by the jury in Cleaves' hometown of Flint comes nearly four years after a then-24-year-old woman accused Cleaves of sexually assaulting her in a Flint area motel room.
The Michigan Supreme Court has declined to review a judge's decision to reinstate sexual assault charges against former Michigan State basketball star Mateen Cleaves. The state's high court on Wednesday joined three Michigan Court of Appeals judges, who in August denied Cleaves' request. Earlier, Genesee County Judge Archie Hayman reinstated the case against Cleaves, who faces charges including unlawful imprisonment and second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The case is expected to return to county court for trial. Cleaves is accused of assaulting a woman after a charity golf event and a visit to a Flint-area bar in 2015.
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Cleaves is accused of assaulting a woman after a charity golf event and a visit to a Flint-area bar in 2015. A District Court judge dismissed the case in December after hearing days of testimony. But Genesee County Judge Archie Hayman reversed that decision Monday, saying there's enough evidence to send the case to trial. Hayman says he's not judging Cleaves' guilt or innocence.
A woman who says she was sexually assaulted by former Michigan State basketball star Mateen Cleaves says she twice ran out of a motel room to try to get away from him. The woman is testifying Thursday in a Flint-area courtroom. A judge must decide whether there's enough evidence to send Cleaves to trial. He's pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors claim police officers drove Mateen Cleaves home after they were called to a motel for an alleged sex assault involving the ex-basketball star while leaving the victim to find her own ride home. Wayne County Prosecutor Lisa Lindsey made the claim Thursday, Sept. 15, during a hearing on two motions in the Cleaves prosecution. Lindsey was arguing a motion seeking to limit questioning from Cleaves' attorney, Frank J. Manley, into the mental health history of the alleged victim when she made the claim about the ride given to Cleaves.
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