He hates TSUN and believes they're dirty!!! Excerpt fro the article:
"Back in the late 1980s and most of the 1990s, Izzo would relentlessly recruit some star out of Detroit, ... And just when he'd think he was going to close the deal ..., the rug would get pulled out from under him. That Izzo never felt the deal was clean is no secret. NCAA sanctions against U of M eventually confirmed as much."
Hard to believe it can be said about a guy with a title and 6 final fours, but I honestly think Tom Izzo is one of the most underated coaches out there. He doest recruit like Calipari, Coach K, Bill Self or Roy Williams, but his teams always end up being really good.
This year they weren't picked to do much coming into the year, those are the seasons his teams always seem to end up in the final four.
Yeah, Coach K or even Jim Boeheim seem to get more credit, but Tom deserves it equally. Give it time, maybe in a few years?
Longevity definitely helps. Coach K and Boeheim have been coaching their respective schools for 30 plus years, while Izzo is in his 18th season at MSU.
There is no denying that Tom Izzo is one of the best coaches in college basketball. The guy has won 7 Big Ten titles, 3 Big Ten Tourney titles, 15 NCAA appearances, 10 Sweet 16's, been to 6 Final Fours, coached in 2 NCAA titles games, and has won 1 national title; all since taking over MSU in 1995. I have great respect for the guy cause he does things the right way and he does it with guys who aren't always the cream of the crop talent-wise, but gets them to buy into his system and play all-out for him. The one thing though that I've gotten used to about him that used to annoy the crap out of me was his constant whining to the officials about calls.
Izzo is a class act. Gotta respect him and what he has done. I find myself rooting for Sparty when their not playing us. Hating AACC is just frosting!
Izzo gets plenty of talent, so I do not buy into the overachiever hype.
What his teams do, probably better than anyone else is:
1. Rebound and take care of the ball
2. Play a team oriented offense which has become rarer as the years have gone by and the 3-point line has swallowed up the premium on interior offense
3. Get better each season as the seasons progress
4. Play great schedules
5. *** Play consistently and play up in big games ***
Hard not to like him
I don't think he's an overacheiver. To be sure he gets a lot of talent, he just doesn't bring in top 5 classes every year and ends up still winning a lot of basketball games. In 2011 his class was rated 21rst, 2012 it was 13th and currently his 2013 class isn't even in the top 30.
I was at OSU@MSU game earlier this year and I just marveled at his in-game coaching compared to Matta. Timeouts, substitutions, using the team fouls to break up designed plays. Just impressive stuff. Like everyone else has said, he is an amazing coach. He doesn't recruit a lot of one-and-done guys, he gets hard nosed, hustle, rebound grabbing guys. And he gets the best out of them.
“Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.” - Woody
I am a Buckeye to my core. However I was born & raised (by an tOSU alum & season ticket holder) in tsun and I attended MSU (because out of state tutition was way to much to afford). So I have unique perspective on scUM and the hatred that comes from both MSU & tOSU. I have said this all along if you could fuse Matta's recruiting talents with Izzo's coaching talents you would have the perfect coach! I like Matta but he is more often than not out coached during the game and Izzo is a master at it!
Because they wouldn't let me go for 3!
Woody Hayes 1913-1987
I too attended MSU as a Buckeye fan. I often say Matta and Izzo would make an unstoppable coaching combo of a coach -- Captain Planet style, "when your powers combine..."
“Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.” - Woody
I love Izzo. His teams play clean and tough and as a team.
Izzo is the man. It's hard to root against him when they are not playing OSU. He and Brad Stevens I feel get the most out of their players. Every year it feels like MSU basketball is totally written off then like the Spurs in the NBA they put together a solid season then make alot of noise in the tourney. Honestly I feel the way they are coming together right now they are the Big Ten's best shot at a Final Four Rep.
All I can say if we can't win the league and it comes down to IU, UM and MSU color me green!!