Striking out at Michigan State helped Steven Jamerson II land at UCLA

EAST LANSING, Mich.— Long before he slipped on a UCLA jersey, intent on doing the dirty work for his new team, Steven Jamerson II found himself sweeping the floor of Michigan State’s basketball arena.It had been pouring rain that day, sending water seeping into the Breslin Center.

Jamerson, then a Michigan State freshman, picked up a squeegee mop and started cleaning up the place.This was part of his fallback plan to become part of the Spartans’ basketball program.Initially, Jamerson had wanted to walk onto the team but was told there were no tryouts.So he applied to become a team manager, leading to shadow days and that encounter with the mop.He didn’t get the job, falling to 0 for 2.“It was disappointing, for sure,” Jamerson, now the Bruins’ backup center, told The California Post.

“It had me in a state of sadness — maybe depression — but at the same time, I enjoyed being at the actual university.”On Tuesday, Jamerson will return to the place he once wanted to call his basketball home, intent on proving he belongs when the Bruins (17-8, 9-5 Big Ten) face the No.10 Spartans (20-5, 10-4).“It’s going to feel like a full-circle moment, for sure,” Jamerson said.

“My biggest goal is to showcase that I belong at this high of a level and to prove to those coaches, myself, and just everybody in my circle that I can be here and can put the work in and be great at the Power Four level.”No matter what happens, it will be a reminder of a journey filled with detours.After leaving Michigan State to spend three seasons playing for the University of San Diego, the 6-foot-10 Jamerson transferred to UCLA last spring.The goal was to show he could play in the Big Ten during his final college season.Researching Jamerson in the transfer portal, Bruins coach Mick Cronin checked in with Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, a longtime friend who told his counterpart that Jamerson was the most underrated big man on the West Coast.“He’s a huge steal for...