The Greatest Spartan Ever?

He was the hero of my childhood that has become my friend. He is a legend in the Spartan Nation and has proved to be an even better man off of the basketball

He was the hero of my childhood that has become my friend. He is a legend in the Spartan Nation and has proved to be an even better man off of the basketball court, than his incredible accomplishments and talent.

 

Jay Vincent is in my opinion the greatest Spartan of all time in any sport. With the hundreds of lives he is touching and changing in business today, he expands that legacy.

 

“For me, my integrity has always meant more than anything else. I have tried to live the way I played. I want to be known as a tough businessman, but one who also cares. I can’t imagine whether it was basketball or business doing something for just money. Money was never my motivator, it had to always be more,” was how Vincent described his passion for life to me. It is those same qualities that make him a tremendous father and husband even today.

 

If you look at his business success today, you first have to look back at how he got started and the driving forces that set in motion the man he is today. “I always wanted to get better, but the lesson is when you go from wanting to doing. Once I learned that at MSU and even carried it over to the NBA I was always shooting extra shots and doing the little things. My drive was to compete and I never wanted anyone to beat me, that attitude is what made me who I am.”

 

Vincent’s success at MSU is most closely tied to a National Title, but he reflects on a lot more than that as he thinks about his days as a star on Jud’s court. “The people you meet on the journey are what makes it priceless. I had so many people that helped make Jay Vincent. My time as a student and player at MSU was fantastic and I had so many great people to thank for that. Jud was so demanding and yet all these years later, I just sat down recently and wrote him a letter that told him how much I love him and owe him. Jud was a real role model to me in that when you love people you have to push them to see what they can become, because so many of us can’t see what we have in us.”

 

His storybook career then took him on to the NBA where the gentle giant dominated for nine years with six teams. Over those nine years he averaged an incredible 15 points per game, but again he doesn’t dwell on those achievements. The ever-reflective Vincent goes past the on court and goes deeper.

 

“I always thought that when fans were watching that they knew I was from Michigan State and that I was from Lansing. I was always trying to conduct myself in a way that made my home and my school proud. Some guys go to the league and it is a job, a paycheck. Basketball for me was a love and a passion. I never could let it become anything else for me. I think that helped me accomplish all that I could because I never lost the love for a game I started playing as a kid in Lansing.”

 

Vincent’s commitment to integrity is what helped make him into the incredible success he is today. “I had an inspection company and a prominent agent in Lansing lost a sale because after we investigated a house one of their clients was about to purchase, they backed out of after reading our report. They just stopped doing business with me, because we told the truth. Imagine that, WE TOLD THE TRUTH and lost the business. After that I purposed in my heart to go into a business that integrity would be rewarded. It was totally God’s hand on my life after that point.”

 

How would Jay know that on the horizon would be massive amounts of foreclosures and bank repossessions in the housing market? “I simply didn’t see it coming, but God did and I think that when you do things right and with a good heart, God honors that and he steered me into that direction. Just like the credit for my basketball success that goes to so many, God deserves the credit for my business success.” 

 

Now Vincent’s impact, no longer on the basketball court, but in the business world is felt coast to coast and with hundreds of employees. His company, based in Mid Michigan, is a foreclosure inspection specialist and is literally one of the leading companies in the nation acting as the eyes and ears of the banks and financial institutions when they take back a house and Jay’s team moves in to inspect and look over the properties until they can be sold.

 

“No one wishes for another to lose their dream or their home. That just hurts every time you walk into a house, but the banks and the people that hire us have needs also and we are able to employ so many by just being there and doing things the right way. I no longer have to look over my shoulder for someone who doesn’t care about the truth. I go in, do my job, do it well and they appreciate people they can trust.”

 

Trust is a good word when talking about Vincent. He was never given it, but he earned every bit of it. Today, he may not suit up in the Green and White, but he is s Spartan through and through and still is making the Spartan Nation proud. 

 

Vincent’s commitment to family, faith, business and all things Spartan are what still drives him; something that he developed in Mid Michigan and came back to, something he lives. Vincent may not be the most vocal person in the world, but just like his days at MSU, his actions speak louder than words. 

 

How many people meet their boyhood hero? How many after they do aren’t disappointed? How many can have a friendship with them? All of those are true of me. Vincent is my friend, but what makes our friendship even more special? He is still my hero!

***This article is reprinted from the April Issue of Spartan Nation Magazine. If you are not a subscriber, you can get a FREE subscription today by emailing your name to www.SpartanNationMail@yahoo.com Please put in the subject line: New Subscriber. The magazine is sent both in print or via email.***

 

You can watch a full length video interview of Jay and I by CLICKING HERE.