"I didn't know about any of that when I was recruiting him because it wasn't something he talked about," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said Monday in an interview. "Since finding out what he went through, I do wonder how having life-and-death experiences might change your perspective because you realize there are things bigger than basketball."

"I'm lucky my parents worked so hard to provide me with what I needed and we moved as a family when we needed to because of war," he said in an interview with the AP during the regular season. "I was always 'happy-go-lucky G,' and I still am."

"We've been there, but we haven't played a minute," said [Goran Suton], referring to the Final Four in 2005, when he was redshirting. "If we go out without a Final Four, it would be very disappointing for all four of us."