06/05/2007

Staying put makes Izzo a bit of a relic

Coaching at only one university getting more rare

By MARK URBAN

murban@record-eagle.com

Izzo

BELLAIRE — As the dean of Big Ten basketball coaches, Michigan State University's Tom Izzo is sort of a relic.

This March he concluded his 12th season as the head coach, his 24th as a member of the Spartans' staff.

"Thanks for the compliment,” joked Izzo on Monday, standing above the 18th hole at Hawk's Eye, site of the annual Tom Izzo Charity Challenge. "But I have to agree with you. I am a relic staying at one school. (Duke's) Mike Krzyzewski, (Syracuse's) Jim Boeheim, (Arizona's) Lute Olson — there's a few out there.

"But now you have Tubby (Smith) leaving (Kentucky for Minnesota). It's getting harder to stay in one place. I don't know if you wear out your welcome or the expectations get too high.

"I mean, let's face it, we're at the point where if we don't get to the Final Four, that's somewhat of a disappointment. But that can be good, too, expecting the best out of the business you're in.”

The basketball coaching business has also been in the news a lot of late with Billy Donovan, coach of the two-time reigning national champions at the University of Florida.

Donovan signed a five-year, $27.5 million contact with the Orlando Magic on Friday. But on Monday it appeared that Donovan might return to the Gators.

It's the same situation Izzo has been in before after leading MSU to four appearances in the Final Four, capped by a national championship in 2000.

"You have to make a decision,” he said. "Do you want to wear a bunch of hats and be in college where you have academics, recruiting, basketball and alumni things or do you want to wear one hat and deal with the things you have to deal with in the NBA?

"Every year that goes by you say, 'Well, the grass is greener over there,' but usually the grass is never greener someplace else when you think about it.”

Izzo said decision to move on to the NBA or to stay in college usually has a lot more to do about family than finances.

"You have six tough months (in the NBA) where you're traveling, but I see Dave Lewis from the (Boston) Bruins here and you have a real offseason,” Izzo said. "That's the thing. In college, recruiting never ends, academic issues never end and that's where the Billy Donovans and the Tom Izzos of the world have decisions to make.

"The money is always nice, but I make a great salary, so it's not that much a financial decision. Especially when you have a family, you make a lifestyle decision.”

Besides, Izzo isn't in a hurry to go anywhere.

ESPN.com's Andy Katz named State the best men's basketball program over the past 10 seasons.

MSU is coming off a 23-12 campaign that concluded with an 81-67 loss to No. 1 seed North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Spartans are 278-121 under Izzo and have reached the NCAA Tournament the last 10 consecutives seasons.

Michigan State returns the vast majority of last season's team and also signed one of the top five recruiting classes in the nation with Chris Allen, Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers.

"Sometimes when you have everybody back, the good news is you have everybody back and the bad news is you have everybody back,” Izzo said. "This is all good news for me. I don't lose a player and I have three great recruits coming in.

"On paper this will be a top 10 team. Whether we maintain it, only time will tell.”

This season will also be the last for the closer 3-point line. It will go back a foot to 20'9” for the 2008-09 season.

"I'm glad about it,” said Izzo, who would also like to see players be required to stay two or three seasons instead of just one. "I think it is too close. I think it was beginning to be a shot where the extra point was more reward than the risk.

"I think moving it back is good and it will open the lane a little, spread things out and get more offense into the game.

"John Beilein, the new Michigan coach whose offense relies so much on the 3-pointer, maybe he wants to keep it the old way. I just think we're giving them too much for a shot that's not that hard.”

Coming out to play golf for a good cause, even under overcast skies, wasn't hard.

Among the celebrities on hand were former Michigan State basketball player Matt Steigenga, former MSU football player Brad Van Pelt, former major league pitcher and Bellaire native Roger Mason and ex-Wings coach Lewis.

"My daughter is an MSU grad,” said Lewis, who was at the tournament for the third time. "I really don't know Tom Izzo other than casual contact. I got an invitation a couple of years ago and I responded to it. Now we come up with the wives and make a weekend out of it.”

Izzo also came up to Bellaire in advance of the outing. In addition to being a spokesman for Hawk's Eye, Tom and Lupe Izzo own a condominium on the property.(*)

"It's been an awesome situation for me,” Izzo said. "There's been a variety of reasons. No. 1 is the people I get to meet and be associated with. There's nothing like coming up into northern Michigan. North of here (Iron Mountain) is where I was brought up. As you move north up through this great state of ours, the more people seem to get more real as you get up in this territory.

"The golf course is ranked as one of the top courses in the whole country and everything about it, the way it's cut out of the woods, the beauty of it. It's a hard course, but a hard course that's fair and enjoyable and that's the fun of it. Then there's Camp Quality and the charity itself.”

Camp Quality is an organization that assists children with cancer.

"It might send them to a camp, it might send them to a Tigers game,” Izzo said. "It's a chance to do something that they don't get to normally do on a daily basis.”