Kenny Goins: Living A Dream
12/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Grace Wheeler, MSU Athletic Communications
Adversity, it's something everyone faces, it's a fact of life. Kenny Goins has seen it in his life all too many times, but his patience and passion never dwindled. Family, basketball, his team, and Spartan Nation have been his foundations and have helped shape his past, current, and future successes.
One could find the Troy, Michigan native almost anywhere that supplied a basketball hoop and ball, but one of his most frequently visited spots growing up was the court at his local church.
"I always wanted to play. Anywhere I could find somewhere to play, I was there. Church league, city league, at school, anywhere. I got it from my dad, he was always wanting to play no matter what and he still does to this day," remarked Goins.
It's all fun and games playing with kids your own age, but Goins wanted something more. He wanted to be able to hang with the older players. Goins asked his dad countless times to be able to play with him and his friends, but he was always just a bit too young.
"He plays every Tuesday at church with a bunch of his friends and every week I would go with him. I'd shoot around on the side hoop while they're playing and every year I'd ask ‘can I play with you this year? Am I old enough yet?' Every year that's just what I kept striving for. I wanted to play with them, I wanted to compete with them, I wanted to run up and down with him and his friends," said Goins.
Goins waited his turn, and over the years his name was finally called. He was just the right height, his skills were there, and he was tough enough to be let in on the action.
"I was 12 or 13 years old and that was definitely one of the most exciting moments of my life when he told me I could play with them." said Goins. "It took me so long to get there and I would go every week for six or seven years watching him and his friends play and it just looked like so much fun, and when I finally got the opportunity it was great."
Basketball started his sports career, but like most young people that dabble in a variety of sports in middle school and high school, Goins was similar. The difference with Goins was he showed promise in two of his high school sports, football and basketball. He knew he wanted to play one of them at the collegiate level, but that's no easy decision for a young 18-year old.
Goins was a standout tight end for the Warren Mott Marauders, and was even offered scholarships to Ivy League and smaller Division I and Division II schools to pursue his career in football. In fact, Goins was more than certain he was going to attend college on a football scholarship.
"Football was my first choice and I was actually going to go play college football. At the end of my football season going in to my senior year of basketball I was kind of up in the air between football and basketball, but I thought I was going to take a scholarship and go play football in college."
With a little guidance from his mom and dad, Goins realized he needed to weigh his options and remember his senior season of basketball was still upon him.
"It was just after one of my games, I walked up to my family and said I want to play basketball in college. Reality just kind of hit me at that point. I knew I'd have more fun with basketball. When I told my family I think my mom was the happiest of everyone, and my dad was happy I was happy," said Goins.
Now that the decision to play basketball in college was decided, Goins had another tough option to weigh, one he knew would affect him and his family.
He had always bled Green-and-White, he had been a Michigan State fanatic since his uncle introduced him to Spartan Nation, and men's basketball in particular, around the age of six. Goins and his uncle would sit up in section 222, way up there right up against the cement wall and they attended as many games as they possibly could.
Playing for Michigan State was a dream of Goins', but as he grew up he didn't think it would be feasible to accomplish.
"One of my major factors playing in to my college choice was whether I could get a full ride or not. Money is never easy and my dad was working two jobs to support our family. The entire time I just thought I can't pass up a full ride at a smaller school to put my family under that kind of financial pressure," said Goins.
Well slowly but surely, and with the support of his family a dream became a reality and it seemed like everything had fallen into place. He made one final visit to MSU and attended an Illinois game in which the Spartans fell, but he still remembers being up in head coach Tom Izzo's office after the game and the smile he had on his face when he told him he would be attending Michigan State.
"When I came here to visit and I didn't have a scholarship, they told me I would be a walk on, and I was nervous I couldn't accept, but my dad told me, ‘this is your dream school, why aren't you saying yes?" said Goins. "It's really eye-opening when you realize who actually cares about you and how much. When they can let you make the decision even when it's going to put them under stress.
Now after a walk-on redshirt season and two knee injuries later, Goins serves as one of MSU's starting forwards for the Spartans.
Decisions were made, Goins and his family are happy, and now he has been living the opportunity of a lifetime for the past three years. He has nothing but pride and passion for Michigan State now and for years to come.
"This program is closer than family. It's bigger than us too. I know it's cliché, but it really is bigger than us. We look around and we see everyone in the stands, everyone that comes out to our games on the road, all the support that we get from Spartan Nation as a whole, it's just a blessing to feel that love and that positive energy and to know that at the end of the day all these people love watching us on the court, but all these people want to see us succeed in life just as much as they want to see us succeed out here," concluded Goins.
