Former MSU hoops player Anthony Ianni turns challenges into successes
EAST LANSING, Mich. (BVM) – Former Michigan State basketball player Anthony Ianni was diagnosed with a pervasive developmental disorder, which falls on the autism spectrum, when he was 4 years old. Although it was supposed to limit him academically and athletically, it did neither.
“When basketball started coming into play for me, and people saw how hard I worked, when people saw how much time and effort I put in, not just in school, but on the court as well, I started to earn a lot of respect from not just other opponents and people I played against, but I also earned a lot of respect from my classmates and my peers as well,” Ianni said.
Ianni fell in love with the game of basketball watching Michael Jordan growing up, as any kid in the ‘90s would.
“Like every other kid growing up, I wanted to be like Mike, like the Gatorade commercial,” he said. “I had my Michael Jordan jersey, I wore it in the driveway, I had a ball that said ‘Jordan’ on it with Michael Jordan dunking, so it all started with Michael Jordan growing up.”
Ianni graduated from Okemos High School in East Lansing and was recruited to play basketball by schools such as Notre Dame, Purdue, Michigan, and Michigan State, where he would end up after one year at Grand Valley State.
Ianni originally had the decision to take a preferred walk-on position at Michigan State or accept a full-ride scholarship at Grand Valley State, a decision which he enlisted the help of one Tom Izzo, Michigan State’s head coach, to help him make.
“I told him, ‘I don’t know what to do, this is a full-ride offer here, but then [Michigan State] is my dream school, I’ve wanted to play for you since I was 8,’” Ianni said.
He met with Izzo in his office, and Izzo, true to his character, was brutally honest with Ianni.
“He said, ‘Look, I’ll be honest with you, you have a preferred walk-on opportunity with us. I can’t promise you’ll get a scholarship in four or five years. You will come here next year and the plan would be to redshirt you so you can get bigger and stronger, and understand our system a little bit better,’” Ianni said about what Izzo told him.
After a year at Grand Valley State, Ianni chose to live out his dream and walk on at Michigan State.
“There was only one place I wanted to end up going, and that was Michigan State,” Ianni added.
Izzo told Ianni when he met with him that even though he had autism, he was going to coach him the same way he had coached every player he ever had. He said he was going to push him to limits he had never been pushed to in his entire life, which is exactly what he wanted.
He would later join the team, start lifting weights, and be officially initiated by holding 500 pounds of sandbags on his lap as he did a wall sit, a ritual each new member of the team must go through.
Ianni credits former Michigan State and now Indiana assistant coach Dane Fife for being one of the most supportive people in his time in college. He recalled a story about Fife that stuck with him.
“I went back one day and coach Fife just called me into his office and he goes, ‘Hey, I gotta ask you a question. What were the things that made you click with us? What worked, and what didn’t work when we coached you?’” Ianni recalled about Fife.
“I answered his question and I asked him, ‘Why are you asking me all this?’ And he said, ‘There could be a potential chance or opportunity that I may have to recruit a kid just like you on the autism spectrum, and I’m trying to prepare myself for that. That’s why I want to pick your brain on a few things.’ And that told me right there that Fife cares.”
Throughout his time at Michigan State, Ianni’s developmental disorder made it difficult for him to manage playing basketball and the grueling schedule of a student-athlete. Learning the new terminology of Michigan State’s playbook was a factor in his struggles, along with the unpredictability of his schedule.
“That was the one thing that I had to expect, was to expect the unexpected when it came to all these different changes, the schedule, everything,” Ianni said.
There came a time when it was almost all too much for Ianni, and he considered walking away from basketball. In his first year at Michigan State, Ianni didn’t travel with the team, only participating in workouts and practice.
However, after a conversation with former Spartan linebacker Kaleb Thornhill, he decided to change his mind and stick with his dream.
Thornhill told Ianni about his experiences with the coaching staff under former head coach John L. Smith and how he also considered stepping away from the game he loved, but ultimately did not end up quitting because he wanted to share those experiences with those who would come after him.
This resonated strongly with Ianni, feeling that if Thornhill could overcome his struggles, he could too.
“I want my sons and my daughter to know about my experiences at Michigan State, and as a college athlete,” Ianni said. “That’s what kept me going throughout all those years, was sharing those experiences with people. Sharing those experiences with your family members, your kids, your grandkids one day.”
Now, Ianni travels all over the country as an advocate for autism awareness and anti-bullying, giving speeches at places like schools and summer camps, and he even holds a seat on the Governor’s Autism Council. He also works for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
After speaking at Shelby Junior High School in the fall of 2014, the principal asked Ianni if he had thought about putting his life story into print. Thus, the idea for his new book, “Centered: Autism, Basketball, and One Athlete’s Dreams” was born. He and Rob Keast spent three-and-a-half years putting the book together, and it was finally published in 2021.
“It’s been incredible to see how much of an impact it’s had, not just on people in the sports world, but people in the autism world,” Ianni said. “Hearing their comments and reading their thoughts on the book, and how it’s helped them in so many ways understand what autism is, that was the main thing for the book. It was to educate people on what autism is, and educate them about how to deal with an individual with autism, and basically the behind-the-scenes look at what being a Michigan State basketball player really is like.”
Ianni’s story is one of resilience, perseverance, and inspiration. It is a true underdog story of a man overcoming one-in-a-million odds to achieve his dreams, as well as finding a calling in life. He is a reminder to those dealing with situations similar to his that nothing is impossible.
Ianni is a strong voice in the autism community, offering help and motivation wherever it is needed. He continues to change countless lives to this day.
