They do a lot of the work and get very little of the credit.
But coaching is a labor of love for MSU's three assistants, Jim Boylen, Mark Montgomery and Dwayne Stephens.
Through much of the season and especially in March, sleep is not very high on their priority lists. They watch videos, prepare scouting reports, talk with players and head out on the road to various high schools around the state and country to watch potential prospects.
The trio, of course, reports to head coach Tom Izzo and splits duties between itself for pre-and postgame preparations.
Boylen prepares the team for whatever the opposition is going to do, Montgomery looks at the offensive schemes, while Stephens does the postgame prep to evaluate what worked and what didn't.
"We all take an emphasis on how to make the team better or what we have to look for in different opponents," Montgomery said.
On the recruiting end, the staff gets together early in the week to decide which games they will attend and who has contacts at certain schools that will make for a successful trip.
Boylen, 40, returned to MSU this summer after spending the last 13 years as an assistant coach for various teams in the NBA. He was an assistant at MSU under former head coach Jud Heathcote from 1987 until leaving for the NBA's Houston Rockets in 1992.
For Boylen, coaching was his way to stay in basketball. He joined Heathcote's staff immediately after leaving Maine, where he spent his playing days.
"I got into coaching out of fear," Boylen recalled. "The fear was not to be at practice everyday from 2-to-6.
"The fear of not having basketball in my life is what led me to coaching."
The odd part about the coaching trio is that Boylen recruited and coached both Montgomery and Stephens while they played at MSU.
"There's a bond there," Boylen said. "We won a Big Ten Championship together, so that part has been a really easy transition."
It's been a win-win situation with Boylen's return to the Spartans' bench. He can offer his expertise from the NBA to the younger assistants, while they help him mesh back into the college-style of play.
"They're both good guys, fun guys, smart guys," Boylen said. "They've really helped me."
Montgomery, in his fifth season at MSU, was a third-team All-Big Ten point guard in 1992 for the Spartans. He works mainly with the perimeter players. Before coming to MSU, Montgomery worked from 1997-2001 as an assistant at Central Michigan.
Stephens, 34, works primarily with the Spartans' post players. He played at MSU from 1989-93, and, after three seasons of pro-ball in Europe, became an assistant at Oakland before moving on to Marquette and then to MSU.
All three of the assistants agreed on how great it is to work with the players and see them develop— not only as athletes, but also as men— right in front of their eyes.
"It's a big responsibility to try to teach them not only basketball, but life lessons, too," Boylen said. "I cherish it. You can really make a difference."
Stephens agrees that they are not just coaches of basketball, they are teachers of life.
"You're proud of your students when they catch on or start getting something," Stephens said. "You preach something over and over again and when they finally get it, they look over and give you that smile and it's very rewarding."
Expanding the tree?
Six former Izzo assistants currently hold coaching jobs at Division I schools, including Tom Crean who led Marquette to the 2003 Final Four, and Stan Heath led Kent State to the 2002 Elite Eight, before moving onto Arkansas. Also on that list are Brian Gregory (Dayton), Mike Garland (Cleveland State), Stan Joplin (Toledo) and Doug Wojcik (Tulsa).
On top of that, another branch is already growing off the tree. Izzo believes Montgomery is in line to be the next "rat leaving the ship," as he jokingly referred to Wojcik's departure a year ago.
"I do see him growing after this season," Izzo said. "Mark has made some huge progress in the last two years, he could be the next guy to go."
Montgomery was a finalist for the job at Eastern Michigan after last season, but it went to Michigan assistant Charles Ramsey instead.
But another year under Izzo certainly isn't going to do the 35-year old assistant coach any harm.
"Coach Izzo gives you a lot of responsibilities," Montgomery said. "He makes you accountable as a coach and wants you to be prepared for one day to take over a head job. He just gets you ready, so it's very rewarding when a coach doesn't hold you back. He wants you to gain the experience so one day you can run your program."
Don't count out Boylen or Stephens, though. While Montgomery seems to be the hot commodity, Izzo feels that the other two are just as ready.
"I see this group making some big strides," Izzo said. "We've done a better job in recruiting, we're making some big strides in the coaching parts and just like years past, guys that maybe weren't ready at one time are ready and I think I've got a guy or two ready to make a move if there's the right job open."
