MSU 2012 Basketball Freshman Matt Costello Humble in the Midst of Great Adulation and Awards

As June 28th approaches, the anticipation is building for the arrival of the 2012 Spartan basketball recruiting class. Power Forward Matt Costello of Auburn,
Michigan is one of four incoming freshman who continues to impress MSU fans on and off the court.

The Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan for 2012 has also recently picked up another accolade, Parade All-American Honors. He couldn’t believe the news when he was informed. He took time to talk to Spartan Nation about it.

“I actually didn’t find out [right away] until my mom told me,” said Costello. “I was like ‘Seriously?’ I had to ask her three times cause I thought she was messing with me but its another great honor and I’m glad for the opportunity.”

Costello is not one for who embraces the limelight; he would rather be spending his free time in the gym improving his game than gloating to the media or fans. The result according to Costello should be more wins for Tom Izzo.

“What each individual player needs to do is work on his own self,” explained Costello. “He doesn’t need all the attention and media, he just needs to work on his skills and his body and becoming a better teammate so you can win; that’s the goal.”

While both on and off the court, Costello turns to his faith to help him through his day.

“[My faith] is something personal to me and it helps me in everyday life,” said Costello. “It helps give me an outlook on how you’re supposed to approach life… the way I approach it is by working hard everyday.”

In today’s age of the 24/7 media cycle, Tebow-mania is everywhere you look. Costello doesn’t want to approach faith in such a way as the New York Jets Quarterback has, he let’s the opportunities come naturally. He isn’t critical of Tebow, just different.

“I normally don’t talk about it,” said Costello. “You saw what happened to Tim Tebow in college when he talked about it before people asked him, now people talk to him about it all the time. Looking at that example, I just live my life the way I think God would want me to live and I hope people see that I’m different and then come ask me about it so its on them and not on me. God will provide the opportunities to share his word and his message and that how I look at it.”

As he prepares to move into a Michigan State dorm, Costello says he has a few big challenges that await him in East Lansing.

“[My mom’s cooking] will be sorely missed but I think the biggest thing worrying me is how am I going to be able to continue my faith without the support of my parents, friends and local church,” said Costello. “I know I have to hop into athletes in action and be connected to a local church, and I’m going to do that when I get down there and I hope I can do that quickly and just get settled quickly.”

Well as he enters open gym on a regular basis this summer he is doing very well. He and Denzel Valentine are wowing people on the open gym court and Costello already has people inside Spartan basketball salivating at his inside talent.