Taking over the Spartans in 1995, Tom Izzo has certainly achieved more than some coaches achieve in their entire careers. He has been named National Coach of the Year four times which tops Coach K by one. He also reached his first final four as early as his fourth season. Izzo has brought and maintained a standard that Michigan State has upheld all these years. To compare him to other big-name coaches, Bill Self has been a head coach since 1993, has spent his last nine seasons with the renowned Kansas University, and has only reached one Final Four. It took Self fourteen seasons to get there and hasn’t visited since. Another big name that hadn’t taken a trip to the Final Four so quickly is John Calipari, who it took eight years to get there. Izzo has brought success to Michigan State and lots of it.
It’s not merely numbers that can define Izzo’s career, though. Rather, it is his passion for his players year in and year out. When offered the big time money to go coach the Cleveland Cavaliers, Izzo turned it down and returned to Lansing. Along with that adversity came the injury of former point guard Kalin Lucas as well as disciplinary issues with Korie Lucious. But Izzo stood firm. It didn’t matter that Lucious was one of the top performers at the time; Izzo dismissed him from the team and told the shooting guard that they would discuss his future with the team later on. The situation was handled without much media interference or opinion and Izzo still found a way to win. The man has the character and integrity that should be present in all coaches.
Another thing about Izzo is that, even when his team is not projected to be as successful as the previous season, he doesn’t shy away from the powerhouse teams. Lots of coaches begin their seasons with Division II teams or the lowest of Division I schools. Though the Spartans’ preseason schedule does consist of a few cupcake teams, Izzo began the year facing the championship-caliber Tar Heels of North Carolina, followed by the Blue Devils of Duke. How’s that for an early season wakeup call? The Spartans were unranked, and are currently the only team in the Big Ten without a win. Don’t take that 0-2 record as the Spartans starting off on the wrong foot, though. Michigan State handled UNC for much of the first half before falling short by twelve points, and also put up a great and aggressive effort against Duke on Tuesday.
That’s another aspect of Izzo that I admire greatly; Izzo teams don’t ever give up or quit. Duke was up 61-41 with only nine minutes left to play in the second half, yet Michigan State found a way to claw its way back in by cutting the lead to five in the final minute. A twenty point deficit, Coach K’s 903rd win on the line, and everyone in the arena expecting Duke to win, and yet Tom Izzo and his players never gave up. That’s what I love about Izzo’s coaching style. Players get frustrated, yes, but Izzo brings that intensity, that “I’m gonna give you all I got” mentality that is hard to come by. He never takes a seat and never gives any indication of giving up before that final buzzer sounds.
If I were Coach K, I’d be very proud of the fact that my milestone win came against a man like Tom Izzo. Coach K ought to know that he truly had to earn that win because, even though the two coaches have known each other for quite some time, Izzo was not going to simply hand Coach K win number 903. Izzo has been present at six final fours and has walked away with one NCAA championship. But it’s his willingness to lead and toughness to outlast the other teams that make him such a top-notch coach. He’s never been in trouble for illegal recruiting and has made Michigan State a perennial contender. Coach K said it best when he called Tom Izzo “a great man and Hall of Fame coach.” But before Izzo’s name is enshrined, he’s got a few more seasons to worry about and a few more Final Fours to play in.
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