Michigan State University Athletics
Spartan Profile: Marvin Clark Jr.
1/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Hanna Sprague, MSU Athletic Communications
Flash back to last season. The alarm buzzes and Marvin Clark Jr. gets out of bed, puts on his practice gear and makes his way out of Wonders Hall. It's 5:30 in the morning and campus is covered with a blanket of darkness, but he isn't alone.
"We get up pretty early," said Clark. "I remember mornings that we all woke up together and we had a lift. We would just walk everywhere on campus because none of us had a car. We didn't have bikes either."
College roommates often become close by nature, but very few can claim relationships like the one that developed between Clark and teammates Tum Tum Nairn Jr. and Javon Bess almost immediately as freshmen.
"JB and Tum are very motivating guys," said Clark. "That's another good thing about having them as roommates. Whenever one of us doesn't want to do something, that person will push us. Or whenever we don't see things that they see, they educate us on that point."
The strength in their relationship mirrors their opportunities on the court. Each of them fought to earn their minutes in their freshman season before working their way into the starting lineup conversation last summer.
"If we're slacking or not doing what we're supposed to be doing, we check each other," said Clark. "I think that's just a good check and balance thing that we have with each other. We're very honest with each other, and I feel like that's the way it should be."
This relationship between teammates is something most coaches can only hope for. Tom Izzo, on the other hand, breeds it.
"Tum and I played on the same high school team," said Clark. "We had great chemistry in high school. We won a lot of games in high school. We wanted to continue that winning and now we're doing that here. After he committed, he kind of told Michigan State about me and they came in right away."
MSU began recruiting Clark, making trips to see him play, but the strongest pull toward East Lansing may have come from Nairn.
"I think that speaks volumes to how close we are," said Clark. "I don't think you'd put your neck out on the line for someone that you don't genuinely care about. That was big for me, and I'm thankful for it. Of course, I had to hold up my end of the bargain, and I did that."
Fast forward past high school graduation and the two were making their way into the dorms on campus. The rest is just history in the making.
"When we came in, we were so close that I feel like it kind of altered everyone to be just one unit," said Clark. "That was big for us last year because that is what helped us in the tournament to get us as far as we went. That's something we want to keep the same for the years to come."
Bess quickly fit in to the bond that had formed both in and away from the game of basketball. Three eager freshmen that came in ready to make their mark in East Lansing, and nothing was going to get in their way.
"JB used to say ‘To each his own' a lot,'" said Clark. "Early on, me and JB had a lot of the same classes together, a lot of the same schedule, so me and him would kind of go everywhere together. Tum got a little jealous, he would say something to JB and JB would joke with him saying ‘To each his own.' Tum took that as me and JB, ‘Two each his own', and we had to explain that's not what it meant."
What started as a joke took a more serious and genuine turn when a nickname arose: 3 Each. In the weeks following the 2015 Final Four, Nairn, Bess and Clark embarked on another journey, taking their relationship, and their nickname, to a more permanent level, opting to get matching tattoos.
"The name just stuck with us," said Clark. "That's what our coaches and teammates started calling us." Three guys, three tattoos meshed into one team and one goal.
"Coach has gotten to a lot of Final Fours, but only a few times has he been able to get over that hump and make it to a National Championship," said Clark. "We just want to get over that hump and play in that championship game as a team."
Student athletes at Michigan State are playing in what seems to be the golden age of collegiate athletics. The Spartan basketball team came off a 2015 Final Four appearance by starting the 2015-16 season with the best start in school history and holding a No. 1 ranking for most of December. MSU football captured a Big Ten championship and advanced to the College Football Playoff.
What may feel like the norm at Michigan State is success at its highest peak, and that doesn't go unnoticed in the eyes of Clark.
"To be able to make it to Final Fours and compete for a National Championship every year, it's definitely not the norm," said Clark. "We push each other, and that's the crazy thing about our school. Everyone is so close knit, especially in athletics. I think it's just perfect timing."
