By this time next week, MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo expects to fill the empty seat on his bench - a seat vacated last month when assistant coach Stan Heath took the head coaching job at Kent State.

Since Heath’s departure, Izzo has promoted his No. 3 man, Mike Garland, to the No. 2 assistant spot while searching for a replacement to fill Garland’s former role. In the past two weeks, Izzo and his staff have interviewed six candidates, including three assistant college coaches and three high school coaches.

Central Michigan assistant Mark Montgomery, Bowling Green assistant Ernie Zeigler and Western Michigan assistant Lorenzo Neely are the three college coaches still in the running, according to Brian Gregory, Izzo’s top assistant.

Gregory said it’s important for the new member of MSU’s coaching staff to have strong links to Michigan’s basketball community because MSU taps in-state talent before looking cross-country for recruits.

“Our recruiting philosophy is inside out,” Gregory said Tuesday. “One key factor (for the new assistant) is having Michigan ties. Michigan is such a great basketball state in terms of high school players. The state is well-known for producing college players.”

All three high school finalists currently coach at high schools in Detroit, an area MSU has only had one recruit from during Izzo’s six years as head coach.

“I think even if the coach we pick is not from the Detroit area, all the candidates are well-known and well-respected throughout the entire state,” Gregory said. “They have great reputations in Detroit, Flint and Saginaw.”