EAST LANSING - Kenny Willekes was a footnote to Michigan State's 2015 recruiting class.
An unranked prospect from Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian High School, Willekes had Division II scholarship offers from Wayne State and Ferris State, among others, but chose to sign with the Spartans as a preferred walk-on.
"I heard a lot of people say 'oh, you're so dumb. You're never going to play there, you should have just taken a D-II scholarship,'" Willekes recalled on Monday. "That also helped put a chip on my shoulder because I wanted to prove them wrong. I hate people telling me I can't do anything.