EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The year 2000 is very important to the Izzo family.

It’s the year Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo won the NCAA Tournament Championship and the year his adopted son, Steven, was born.

One of the players on the team that year, Mateen Cleaves, formed an especially strong bond with Izzo. So much so that Steven’s middle name is Mateen.

Now, Steven is a walk-on player with the Spartans basketball team, and the father-son pair get to spend time with each other in the locker room and out on the court.

Izzo calls the day he adopted Steven “magical.”

“There was nothing like that day. It was magical. You didn’t know what to expect. It took about six seconds and I felt no different than I did with [my daughter] Raquel,” Tom Izzo said.

The coach said anybody considering adoption should go through with it, calling it a positive life-changing experience.

“If you’re thinking about adoption, go for it. You’re helping somebody else’s life but it’s also making yours,” Izzo said.

To hear more of Izzo’s story check out the full interview in the video player above.