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One man's legacy

Men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo began his time with the Spartans 20 years ago

November 21, 2014
Photo by Brandon Hankins | The State News

Izzo tipped off his 20th season at the helm of the men’s basketball team last Friday against Navy. In his two decades with the program, few schools have seen the success the Spartans have under Izzo’s guidance.

But Izzo isn’t interested in celebrating milestones. Quite frankly, year 20 just isn’t that different from year 19 for him.

“You know, I never thought about it until everybody started making a big deal about 20,” Izzo said. “Twenty is just a number. What’s the difference from 19? It’s a one year difference. But for some reason it’s a milestone period or time and when you look around the country, what makes me feel good is that we’ve been able to consistently hang in that pretty solid way of running our program.”

Though he is reluctant to acknowledge the importance of his accomplishment, it’s tough to deny that 20 years as a head coach is an important milestone.

Only two active power conference coaches have been around longer than Izzo — Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (38 seasons) and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (34 seasons) .

Not many coaches can match what Izzo has accomplished since he took the men’s basketball program over from Jud Heathcote in 1995 — six Final Four appearances, 17 consecutive NCAA berths, eight National Coach of the Year honors and an NCAA Championship, among many other notable achievements.

Beyond the numbers, Izzo has become revered for other things, such as his joking nature in interviews, and his ability to consistently succeed with teams regarded as less talented in comparison to those of his peers, and his desire to not only develop good players, but good people as well.

Izzo has built a legend in his two decades in East Lansing. And in a competitive college sports realm, it’s impressive how few enemies Izzo has made over the years.

“I think what really makes him a great coach and what shines through is his record,” ESPN basketball analyst and noted Izzo supporter Jay Bilas said in a phone interview. “He’s of such high character. I don’t know anybody who says a bad word about Tom. I don’t know anybody. And if I did hear someone say a negative word about him, I’d immediately look sideways at that person like ‘what’s wrong with you?’”

A player’s coach

Heathcote — who retired at the age of 68 after 19 seasons at the helm — admitted in a phone interview that he never thought Izzo would eventually surpass him in years coached at MSU.

“I worked hard to get him the job, and I knew he’d be a successful coach because he improved every year that he was an assistant, and then the last couple years, an associate head coach,” Heathcote said. “But I never dreamed he’d stay there 20 years. I think he did that to spite me, he’s broken all my records.”

Heathcote watched MSU fall to Duke, 87-77 , in the Champions Classic on Tuesday and came away impressed. Despite the talent disparity between the two teams — Duke currently has nine former McDonald’s All-Americans on its roster — the Spartans remained in striking distance for most of the game.

“Some people say you’re as good as your players, yet I think Tom gets the most out of his players and other coaches don’t,” Heathcote said.

According to Scout.com, the Spartans have had just eight five-star recruits since 2002. In comparison, Kentucky has had 19, Duke has had 11 and Kansas has had six since 2010. But MSU is consistently named just among these powerhouses when listing the top basketball programs in the country.

It boils down to talent development. Though Izzo’s resume speaks for itself, his ability to recruit character has paid dividends toward the success of his program, according to Bilas.

“When players make mistakes, he deals with it as any parent would,” Bilas said. “I mean, he loves them, but I think he believes that the highest form of love is discipline. And not discipline in the form of punishment, but discipline in the form of high expectations and high standards.”

Entering his third year with the Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green remembers being impressed the first time he met Izzo. The family atmosphere, Izzo’s reputation for helping players graduate, and his postseason success appealed to Green.

But the deciding factor in Green’s decision to play for MSU, interestingly, was Izzo not guaranteeing him playing time right off the bat.

“When he told me that, I really respected that because you had schools that were telling me ‘Yeah, you’re going to come in and play 40 minutes,’ and that really put it in perspective,” he said.

Many college basketball programs have more closely resembled extended NBA talent showcases in the past few years. But Izzo has steadfastly refused to recommend players for the NBA until he felt they were ready.

In spring 2013 Izzo stated many times he felt that then-junior forward Adreian Payne would improve his draft stock by returning for his senior season. In summer 2014, Payne became the 15th pick of the 2014 NBA draft, going a full 20 spots higher than draft pundits predicted he would go a year previously.

Izzo’s no-nonsense approach to recruiting hasn’t always rubbed players the right way. But players agree — Izzo ultimately wants to see them succeed.

“When I came here, I felt that vibe,” senior forward Branden Dawson said. “That he really cared about me. From the time I came up here on my visit, coach Izzo has never told me anything wrong, never lied to me about anything. And just kept it, just told me the truth about everything.”

Green has maintained his close relationship with Izzo and was with Izzo when Gary Harris and Payne were drafted this past summer.

“When you have picks, I think it impresses your recruits more,” Izzo said at the time. “I don’t think that’s always the case, but it should but it does. I think it validates your program, not that ours needs validating. But I think the biggest thing is you get to see guys fulfill a dream and you can use that as motivation.”

Green said Izzo wants his players to be successful as much — or more — than they do.

“One thing coach Izzo always says, ‘I’ve lived my dream, I’m living my dream. I’d be selfish and foolish to not want other people to live their dream.’ Some people will say that, and they don’t mean it,” Green explained. “But he’s proved that time and time again, he really wants to see people living their dream. And you don’t get that often.”

How many years left?

Izzo has been presented with plenty of opportunities to depart his position at MSU in the past — opportunities both good and bad.

He nearly lost his job during his third season as head coach after a less-than-ideal start. Cleveland Cavaliers owner and MSU alumnus Dan Gilbert tried to pry him from the collegiate ranks in 2010. Most recently, Detroit Pistons owner and MSU alumnus Tom Gores briefly flirted with pursuing Izzo last season before ultimately hiring Stan Van Gundy to fill his head coaching vacancy.

It might be too soon to say Izzo is a college lifer, but Izzo’s dedication to building MSU’s program has stood the test of time.

“It all comes down to how you feel and where the program’s at and what’s going on, and I feel great,” Izzo said. “The program, I think we’re back in a little upswing.”

It’s unlikely Izzo coaches as long as the Boeheim’s and the Krzyzewski’s of the basketball world. According to Heathcote, Izzo has, at most, 10 years left in him. Izzo’s nearing age 60, and his basketball clock continues to tick.

“When he gets to the point where he doesn’t think he’s working as hard has he always has, I think he’ll probably call it quits,” Heathcote said. “He’s going to be 60, he’s always said he wouldn’t go as long as I did. I quit when I was 68. But I think he’ll probably break that record too and so I would say he’s going to be another five to 10 years, but no longer than that.”

Izzo has made it clear — the day he steps down his head coaching position will not be as a result of fatigue, but from disagreement on where college athletics are currently headed.

Izzo also admits 20 years is an admirable number, and sees at least five more in the future.

“I think anybody that stays in that same place, God, I think 10 years is getting harder, if you look around the nation at who has stayed,” Izzo said. “Twenty is a pretty good number. Twenty-five would be a better number if we can keep doing what we’re doing.

“I’m happy where I’m at, I like what I’m doing, I’m frustrated over some situations, but not where the frustrations over situations gets me down,” he said. “If the frustrations are over me not getting the job done, then that’ll be my time to bite the bullet.”

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