Tom Izzo and reporter Lynn Henning get into a spirited discussion about the media’s response to Izzo’s flirtation with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Both guys bring up good points, but I especially like Henning’s point about how the silence from MSU and from Izzo’s camp is not going to stop the speculation about Izzo’s future. If Izzo is upset about the misinformation that’s floating around out there, then he needs to set the record straight. If he’s hoping that people are going to stop talking about the situation while he ponders his decision in absolute silence, he’s going to be waiting a long time.
Izzo rejected the NBA in part because he was unable to speak with James, although he did speak with people in his camp.
“That was one of the key factors, 100 percent true,” Izzo said. “That was not the only factor. Was it a big factor? Sure.”
James’ uncertain future will make for a difficult decision for any prospective Cavs coach. He is unlikely to tip his hand publicly before free agency begins July 1.
I’m glad to see that Izzo is staying at Michigan State. Too many great college coaches go to the NBA and ultimately fail. It’s a different game, a different schedule, and a different level of ego. Most NBA players were the best players on their teams through high school and college; they think they know everything about the basketball and it’s tough to get through to them. That’s why you see so many coaches during those “Wired Up” sequences trying to motivate and cheerlead, while the players are staring off into the stands or up at the scoreboard.
With regard to LeBron, we can read the tea leaves a little bit. LeBron wouldn’t speak with Izzo directly, but Izzo did sepak with “people in his camp.” Remember what I said about ego? LeBron won’t even take the time to talk to a prospective head coach for his “hometown” team. If he were leaning towards staying, I think he and Izzo would have spoken so that he could create the best situation for himself in Cleveland.
Unless, of course, he’s not an Izzo fan, which seems somewhat unlikely.
This sequence of events tells me that the chances of him leaving are greater than the chances that he’ll stay put. Either way, the next two weeks are going to be excruciating. This could last another month if LeBron holds the league hostage by dragging his feet making a decision in July.
At least we have a Game 7 to look forward to on Thursday night.
Tom Izzo is still considering the Cavs job, per ESPN…
Izzo told reporters late Thursday night that “it won’t go on forever, I can tell you that.”
The coach had just arrived back in East Lansing, Mich., after traveling to Cleveland on Thursday afternoon with his wife, daughter and son.
Izzo said: “I feel bad that I can’t talk. I feel good that I did what I had to do.”
Izzo is apparently closer to saying yes to the Cavaliers than previously thought, a source told ESPN.com’s Andy Katz on Thursday.
That source discussed Izzo’s future with a close confidant of Izzo’s who is coaching in the NBA. The source told Katz that Izzo, who talked to his team earlier this week about his interest in the Cavaliers, is leaning toward taking the job if it is offered.
Byron Scott appears to be Izzo’s main competition (or the Cavs’ backup plan?)…
Wednesday night, an NBA Eastern Conference executive with knowledge of the Cavaliers’ thinking told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard that Byron Scott is a strong candidate to be offered the job.
The executive told Broussard that Scott is on equal footing with Izzo.
Scott, a former Los Angeles Lakers guard who has coached the New Jersey Nets and the New Orleans Hornets, has spoken with members of the Cavaliers’ front office the past few days. Late Wednesday night the talks took on a more serious nature, the source told Broussard.
Izzo is 55 years old and is making $3 million a year coaching 30-35 games at Michigan State. He is basically untouchable in East Lansing, but if he goes to the NBA, he becomes just another head coach. Like Dick Vitale said earlier in the week, he’s eventually going to get fired. Seemingly everyone gets fired in the NBA, no matter how good you are. Hell, Mike Brown just got fired in Cleveland after the Cavs had the most wins during the NBA’s regular season.
I understand that Izzo’s ego (or any top college coach’s ego, for that matter) might convince him that this is a challenge that he should undertake, to succeed where so many others have failed, but in the NBA, head coaches just don’t have as big of an impact on the game as they do in college.
The players are far more stubborn and are often paid more, and it’s difficult to steer the ship when there are that many egos on board. Izzo’s fiery nature works well with unpaid college kids who are only in school for 3-4 years, but when you’re talking about $17 million-a-year prima donnas, that in-your-face bit isn’t going to fly.
I presume Izzo knows this, and will attempt to adjust his style, but that aggressive approach is what makes his style so effective. The best NBA coaches — Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich — are successful because of their ability to manage their roster, specifically their stars. Izzo knows the X’s and O’s, but can he talk to LeBron in the same way that Jackson talks to Kobe or that Pop talks to Tim Duncan?
Speaking of LeBron, if Izzo signs on, it’s a clear indication — to me, at least — that he has assurances from the Cavs’ camp (presumably with confirmation from LeBron’s camp) that LeBron will re-sign if Izzo is named the coach. Otherwise, why would he agree to take over a roster that might be mediocre at best? Would he really leave a cush job at Michigan State to coach a team whose two best players are Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams?
“Tom Izzo will not leave the sideline for the Spartans (to take the Cleveland Cavaliers job). Why in the world, if you are an elite coach making millions, would you want three seasons in one, why would you want to go coach a hundred games and go where you could tarnish your resume. Just ask (Rick) Pitino, (John) Calipari…I don’t care if he has LeBron James, he is going to get fired in the NBA. A guy (Cavaliers coach Mike Brown) goes (61-21) and he gets fired.”
Why isn’t Izzo denouncing the rumors?
“Let’s face reality. It is a great way to get more money where you are at. It is a great way to have yourself stroked, we all want to feel love. What does he lose?”
Makes sense to me. I don’t see Izzo leaving unless there’s a guarantee that LeBron re-signs with the Cavs. Even so, it’s still a long shot.
Meanwhile, Waiting For Next Year claims to have a source that says Izzo has already told his players that he’s leaving for Cleveland, while Brian Windhorst (of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer) and Jeff Goodman (of FoxSports) both shot down the rumor.
According to multiple sources, Gilbert has discussed the framework of a massive contract offer to Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. Gilbert, a Michigan State graduate, has handled the recruitment personally and Izzo is said to be mulling the chance to jump to the NBA.
The offer is said to be worth approximately $6 million annually and would be for up to five years, much larger than the industry standard for a coach without previous NBA head coaching experience. The offer might also be loaded with potential bonuses and perks including free use of one of Gilbert’s private jets.
There is no doubt that Tom Izzo is a great coach, but a lot of great college coaches have gone to the NBA only to fail miserably or suffer in mediocrity. Without assurances from LeBron that he’ll re-sign with Cleveland, I don’t see Izzo making the move. That’s just a gut feeling.
So this could be “if LeBron re-signs” deals. If LeBron leaves, Gilbert knows that he’s going to have a tough time getting a big name coach anyway, so why not have the framework of a deal in place that he can sell to LeBron?
According to a league source, they are centering their efforts on bringing in Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.
In fact, they’ve already made him an offer to be their coach, the source said.
Izzo makes $3 million a year at Michigan State, so it would take a big offer to get him to leave, especially considering that he might be coaching a Cavs team that is without LeBron James.
Even if the Cavs doubled his salary, would Izzo want to leave East Lansing to try to coax 40 wins out of Mo Williams, Delonte West and Antawn Jamison?
From an anonymous source from within the Tom Izzo camp, I have been informed that Tom Izzo will be interviewing today for the Chicago Bulls head coaching vacancy.
I’m not sure why he put the word “anonymous” in there. Is the source anonymous to LaChance or anonymous to us? If it’s the former, someone could have just emailed the site and claimed he was in “Izzo’s camp” and knew about the interview.
If it’s the latter and LaChance knows the name of the source and can verify that he’s an Izzo confidant, then this story could very well be true.
There is a long list of very successful college coaches that have struggled on the NBA level. Larry Brown is the only coach to win a title at both levels.
That said, Izzo is a very good coach and is smart enough to learn from the mistakes of others. However, he won’t have the benefit of the stability of the Spartan program or his ability to out-recruit his competition.
More on this story/rumor as it develops.
Wednesday afternoon update: I contacted Brandon LaChance and confirmed that the source is known to him, but doesn’t want his name revealed.
Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: I don’t need to watch spoiled, entitled basketball brats from Kentucky go on an ego spree by crazily firing 32 3-point shots, and making only four, in an Elite Eight loss to West Virginia. I’ll take Butler, which runs an offense and (gosh) makes the extra pass. I’m good with Butler’s best player, Gordon Hayward, who told the Indianapolis Star he’s worried about missing his math classes this week. “I’ve got a heavy class load,” Hayward said. “Some guys don’t have anything, but I wasn’t as lucky with scheduling.” Wait a minute: a real student, competing for the NCAA basketball championship? Who let Hayward and Butler in here? Butler clearly needs to hire John Calipari’s academic advisers. I’m fine with Kansas coach Bill Self sitting in the stands. Nothing personal; he’s a nice fellow. But his No. 1 seed Jayhawks lost heart as soon as Northern Iowa punched them in the mouth early on in their second-round game. I’ll take Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who dug in and willed the Spartans to the Final Four despite the loss of Kalin Lucas, their injured point guard and leading scorer. I’ll even take this version of Duke, which made it back to the Final Four with a lineup rotation that really doesn’t rate with coach Mike Krzyzewski’s previous Final Four teams. Duke’s recruiting has slumped a bit in recent years. Based on previous Duke standards, Coach K has done more with less. There isn’t a sure No. 1 NBA draft pick on this Duke roster.
Jim Riggio, Real Clear Sports: All of the transfers left Duke with just two guards in summer in senior Jon Scheyer and junior Nolan Smith. But through it all Krzyzewski has worked his magic thanks to the knowledge of his players’ academic backgrounds. Andre Dawkins, who committed to Duke as a high school junior and figured to be one of the top prep players in the nation this year, would have actually been playing his fifth year of high school basketball. After transferring high schools following his freshman year, he was allowed to reclassify as a freshman for basketball purposes in the Commonwealth of Virginia. So Krzyzewski spoke to Dawkins about coming to Durham early and with guaranteed playing time available. The youngster couldn’t say no. It sounded like all the problems were solved and Krzyzewski could relax. But then in early December, Dawkins’ mother and sister were planning to drive down to North Carolina to see him play, only to never make it. With his mother also in the car, Dawkins’ sister Lacey was killed on a highway in West Virginia. This forced Dawkins to take temporary leave from the team to grieve his loss.
Jeff Goodman, FoxSports.com: There’s Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, who will likely retire as the all-time winningest coach in D-1 history; Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, who is making a remarkable sixth Final Four appearance in the past dozen years; and Bob Huggins, who will likely join Coach K and Izzo in the Hall of Fame soon after he calls it a career. Three larger-than-life figures who have roamed the sidelines for years. Three fiery, intimidating personalities who are often unable to control their emotions. Then there’s Stevens, the 33-year-old wunderkind who just never, ever seems to lose his cool. Except when, following the win over Kansas State that earned Butler a spot in the Final Four in the Bulldogs hometown this week, Stevens ran across the floor and exchanged chest-bumps with walk-on Emerson Kampen. Stevens had been doing it in the locker room following each of the first three NCAA tournament wins, but decided to show a side of him that few have seen.
Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press: Izzo had gone to Tulsa only for the money. It was 1986, he’d been making less than $5,000 a year at Michigan State as a part-time assistant, and Tulsa offered a job as recruiting coordinator, which paid, he recalls, around $35,000. A fortune! Jud Heathcote, his MSU mentor, told him it probably would be a good move, so Izzo packed a suitcase and a duffel bag and went to Oklahoma to work for an intense coach named J.D. Barnett. One of the first questions Barnett had asked him was, “Do you promise you’ll stay?” And Izzo intended to. He wore a shirt and tie every day, as Barnett demanded. He worked from 6:30 a.m. until midnight, six days a week. He touted the Golden Hurricane logo and told recruits Tulsa would be a great place for them to play basketball. But seven weeks after he’d arrived — just as Izzo was about to buy a house — Heathcote called. A position had opened at MSU. Did he want to come back? … “Oh, J.D. went off!” Izzo recalls, laughing. “He was screaming, ‘Turn your car in RIGHT NOW!’ I kept trying to say I was sorry. He wouldn’t hear it. He was so mad. He hung up on me. I don’t blame him.” Izzo went down the hall and found a young staffer named Ron. He asked for a ride back from the car dealership. “I can’t do that,” Ron said, glumly. “Why not?” Izzo said. “J.D. just called and told me not to do anything for you.”
- THE WORLD OF ISAAC has video of the Michigan State game where Tom Izzo was mic’ed up, and someone apparently forgot to hit the “bleep” button. The site also has a list of the 11 Hottest Sports Movie Tomboys, which includes the delectable Kate Bosworth from “Blue Crush” (right).
- In light of the Cardinals/Eagles tilt this Sunday, DEADSPIN provides an informative FAQ for those of us that have been ignoring the Cards all these years.
- TONYBLOGS brings us the bizarre story (and that’s an understatement) of the (male) limo driver (and convicted burglar) that brought sexual harassment charges against Eddy Curry.
- SHUTDOWN CORNER examines the coaching record of Tony Dungy’s successor, Jim Caldwell. Not pretty.
- FSU free safety Myron Rolle is a smart, smart man. He is a Rhodes Scholar and intends to forgo the NFL Draft (where he is projected to be drafted in the first round) and instead attend Oxford University — that’s right, the Oxford University — for a year before entering the draft in 2010. SPORTSbyBROOKS has all the details.
