Tom Izzo (, Italian pronunciation: ['ittso]); born January 30, 1955, is an American college basketball coach. Since 1995, Izzo has been the head coach for the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Under Izzo, Michigan State has been a successful collegiate basketball program, earning him the nickname of "Mr. March" by some on account of his past success in the NCAA Tournament. Izzo has led the Spartans to the 2000 NCAA Division I National Championship, the 2009 NCAA National Championship Game, seven Final Fours, eight Big Ten championships, and five Big Ten Tournament championships in his 23 years at Michigan State. The coach with the most wins in school history, Izzo's teams have earned invitations to 21 consecutive NCAA tournaments, in addition to setting the Big Ten record for the longest home winning streak. These accomplishments led analyst Andy Katz at ESPN to deem Michigan State the top college basketball program for the decade from 1998 to 2007.
Currently the longest-tenured coach in the Big Ten Conference, Izzo, whose teams are often recognized for their rebounding prowess and defensive tenacity, has won four national coach of the year awards and maintains a considerable coaching tree--several of his former assistants are currently head coaches at other Division I schools. Izzo has won eight regular season conference titles, tied for the third most in conference history. He has also won the most Big Ten Tournament titles (five) in conference history. Izzo is second all time in Big Ten wins (272 through 2018), trailing only Bob Knight.
Video Tom Izzo
Biography
Playing career
Izzo was born and raised in Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In his hometown he met best friend and former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci. Both he and his friend attended Iron Mountain High where they were teammates on the football, basketball and track teams. At Northern Michigan University in Marquette, where they were roommates, Izzo played guard for the men's basketball team from 1973 to 1977. In his senior season, he set a school record for minutes played and was named a Division II All-American.
Early coaching career
After graduating from Northern Michigan, Izzo was head coach at Ishpeming High School for one season. He then took an assistant coaching job at Northern Michigan University from 1979 to 1983. Izzo was then named a part-time assistant at Michigan State in September 1983. After a short two-month stay in 1986 as an assistant coach at University of Tulsa, Izzo returned to Michigan State when assistant Mike Deane left to become head coach at Siena College. Prior to the 1990-91 season, then coach Jud Heathcote elevated Izzo to associate head coach. After Heathcote's retirement following the 1994-95 season and upon both Heathcote and the Michigan State Athletic Director's recommendation, Izzo was named the new head coach of men's basketball for MSU.
Head coach at Michigan State
Hired as head coach at Michigan State in 1995, Izzo is currently the longest-tenured basketball coach in the Big Ten Conference. He became the coach with the most wins in school history after winning his 341st game on November 29, 2009 to surpass Heathcote. In his first two seasons as head coach, Izzo went 9-9 finishing 6th and 7th in the conference and failed to make the NCAA Tournament. In 1998, MSU's record in conference improved to 13-3 and Izzo won the first of his seven regular-season Big Ten championships. 1998 also saw Michigan State begin a streak of 20 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, which is the 3rd longest current streak among Division I teams. Izzo has a record of 47-19 in the NCAA Tournament. In 1999, Izzo won his first of five Big Ten Tournament titles, and went to his first Final Four, the first of three straight Final Four appearances, joining Krzyzewski and Ben Howland as the only three coaches who have made three consecutive Final Fours since the NCAA Tournament bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. In the instate rivalry with Michigan, Izzo's official record against the Wolverines is 24-14, although Michigan vacated five of their wins in the series at the start of his head coaching career.
In 2000, Izzo led MSU to its second NCAA national championship with an 89-76 win over Florida. Eighty-two percent of his players who completed their eligibility left MSU with a degree. Over the years, Izzo has been pursued by the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New Jersey Nets for head coaching jobs. After a brief flirtation with Cleveland, on June 15, 2010, Izzo reported to the Michigan State University's Board of Trustees that he would remain head coach of Michigan State, in which he stated he was "a Spartan for life."
Izzo fell short of obtaining his second national championship in 2009, losing to North Carolina 89-72. His streak of three straight Final Four appearances from 1999 to 2001 is the third-longest of all time, and his six Final Four appearances in the years 1999-2010 were matched by no other team in college basketball.
In 2013, Izzo was voted as the fifth angriest coach in college basketball by USA Today Sports, an honor that he cherishes.
On November 26, 2015, Izzo won his 500th career game, all with Michigan State, with a win over Boston College in the Wooden Legacy. On January 28, 2016, Izzo won his 513th career game moving him into second place past Gene Keady all time for wins by a coach in the Big Ten. He trails only Bob Knight.
On March 18, 2016, MSU suffered what was, at the time, perhaps the single greatest upset in NCAA Tournament history when No. 15 seeded Middle Tennessee defeated the No. 2 seeded Spartans 90-81. It was believed that MSU was the equivalent of a No. 1 seed and Vegas odds had them pegged the favorite to win the title. Middle Tennessee led from start to finish and held off repeated Michigan State threats to take the lead. Despite that, Izzo stated that the team "resurrected me".
On October 13, 2016, Izzo won the Dean Smith Award which is awarded to "an individual in college basketball who embodies the spirit and values of the late North Carolina coaching great.".
Hall of Fame
On April 4, 2016, Izzo was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo chose former Maryland head coach Gary Williams to introduce him at the Hall of Fame ceremony. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on September 9, 2016.
Coaching philosophy
Izzo's teams are known for strong guard play, toughness and rebounding. Izzo is famed for his "war" rebounding drill, in which the players wear football helmets and shoulder pads. His motto is "Players Play - Tough Players Win". His other coaching philosophies include, "he doesn't determine playing time, players do" and "A player-coached team is better than a coach-coached team." Izzo is also known for scheduling extremely tough non-conference schedules as preparation for the NCAA tournament in March.
Criticism
During the 2017-18 season, Izzo received criticism for his handling of sexual assault cases approximately 10 years prior. The report stated that Izzo had failed to report the assaults or to take any actions against the players involved. Izzo has said that he always has and always will cooperate fully with all investigations.
Maps Tom Izzo
High School Player Development
High School All-Americans
Eighteen High School All-Americans have played for Tom Izzo at MSU:
- 1996: Mateen Cleaves (M)
- 1999: Jason Richardson (M)
- 2000: Marcus Taylor (M), Zach Randolph (M)
- 2001: Kelvin Torbert (M)
- 2002: Paul Davis (M)
- 2003: Shannon Brown (M, J), Brandon Cotton (M)
- 2007: Kalin Lucas (J)
- 2008: Delvon Roe (J)
- 2010: Keith Appling (M)
- 2011: Branden Dawson (M)
- 2012: Gary Harris (M, J)
- 2015: Deyonta Davis (M, J)
- 2016: Miles Bridges (M, J), Joshua Langford (M), Cassius Winston (J)
- 2017: Jaren Jackson Jr. (M, J)
M = McDonald's All-Americans; J = Jordan Brand All-Americans
Mr. Basketball
14 different Mr. Basketball winners have played (or will play) for Tom Izzo at MSU.
Mr. Basketball of Michigan
- 1999: Jason Richardson, Saginaw Arthur Hill
- 2000: Marcus Taylor, Lansing Waverly
- 2001: Kelvin Torbert, Flint Northwestern High School
- 2002: Paul Davis, Rochester High School
- 2004: Drew Neitzel, Wyoming Park High School
- 2009: Derrick Nix, Detroit Pershing
- 2010: Keith Appling, Detroit Pershing
- 2012: Matt Costello, Bay City Western
- 2015: Deyonta Davis, Muskegon
- 2016: Cassius Winston, University of Detroit-Jesuit
- 2018: Foster Loyer, Clarkston
Illinois
- 2003: Shannon Brown, Proviso East High School
Indiana
- 2012: Gary Harris, Hamilton Southeastern
Minnesota
- 2006: Isaiah Dahlman, Braham
College player development
National Player of the Year Awards
Under Izzo, two Spartans have earned National Player of the Year awards:
- 2012: Draymond Green (NABC Player of the Year)
- 2016: Denzel Valentine (NABC Player of the Year)
College All-America honors
Under Izzo, eight Spartans have earned All-America honors
- 1998: Mateen Cleaves
- 1999: Mateen Cleaves
- 2000: Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson
- 2001: Charlie Bell, Jason Richardson
- 2003: Chris Hill (Academic)
- 2004: Chris Hill (Academic)
- 2005: Chris Hill (Academic)
- 2007: Drew Neitzel
- 2008: Drew Neitzel (Academic)
- 2012: Draymond Green
- 2016: Denzel Valentine
All-Big Ten
Under Izzo, five different players have been named Big Ten Player of the Year. 12 different players have earned first team All-Big Ten conference recognition while 17 have been named All-Big Ten second team..
Big Ten Player of the Year
- 1998: Mateen Cleaves
- 1999: Mateen Cleaves
- 2000: Morris Peterson
- 2009: Kalin Lucas
- 2012: Draymond Green
- 2016: Denzel Valentine
First Team
- 1998: Mateen Cleaves
- 1999: Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson
- 2000: Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson
- 2001: Charlie Bell, Jason Richardson
- 2002: Marcus Taylor
- 2004: Paul Davis
- 2007: Drew Neitzel
- 2009: Kalin Lucas
- 2010: Kalin Lucas
- 2012: Draymond Green
- 2014: Gary Harris
- 2016: Denzel Valentine
- 2018: Miles Bridges
Second Team
- 2001: Charlie Bell, Andre Hutson
- 2003: Chris Hill
- 2004: Chris Hill
- 2005: Maurice Ager, Alan Anderson
- 2006: Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown, Paul Davis
- 2008: Drew Neitzel, Raymar Morgan
- 2009: Goran Suton
- 2011: Kalin Lucas
- 2013: Keith Appling, Gary Harris, Adreian Payne
- 2014: Adreian Payne
- 2015: Branden Dawson
- 2016: Bryn Forbes
- 2017: Miles Bridges
Sixth Man of the Year
- 2010: Draymond Green
Freshman of the Year
- 2013: Gary Harris
- 2017: Miles Bridges
- 2018: Jaren Jackson Jr.
Defensive Player of the Year
- 2009: Travis Walton
- 2018: Jaren Jackson Jr.
NBA player development
NBA Draft
Since he took over as head coach, 20 players have been selected in the NBA draft, 11 of those players have been drafted in the first round. The former players under Tom Izzo who have been selected in the NBA draft are:
Undrafted players to appear in the NBA
- 2001: Charlie Bell (Phoenix Suns)
- 2005: Alan Anderson (Charlotte Bobcats)
- 2014: Kalin Lucas (Memphis Grizzlies)
- 2015: Keith Appling (Orlando Magic)
- 2016: Bryn Forbes (San Antonio Spurs)
- 2017: Matt Costello (San Antonio Spurs)
NFL Draft
Two former Spartan basketball players have joined the National Football League after the conclusion of their college basketball careers.
- 2007: Matt Trannon (Undrafted - Arizona Cardinals)
- 2013: Dion Sims (Miami Dolphins)
NBA championships
- On June 14, 2009, Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers became the first former player under Izzo to win an NBA Championship. Brown went on to win a second NBA championship in 2010.
- On June 16, 2015, Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors became the second former player under Izzo to win an NBA Championship. Green went on to win a second NBA championship in 2017 and a third in 2018.
Coaching tree
Two of Izzo's former assistants are currently head coaches at other schools:
- Tom Crean - Georgia (formerly coach at Indiana and Marquette)
- Mark Montgomery - Northern Illinois
- Brian Gregory - South Florida (formerly coach at Georgia Tech and Dayton)
One of Izzo's former players is currently a head coach:
- Maurice Joseph - George Washington
Several former Izzo assistants were college head coaches:
- Jim Boylen - Utah
- Stan Heath - Kent State, Arkansas, South Florida
- Stan Joplin - Toledo
- Doug Wojcik - Tulsa, Charleston
Current Izzo assistants who were previously college head coaches:
- Dane Fife - IPFW
- Mike Garland - Cleveland State
Other basketball endeavors
USA basketball
Izzo was head coach of the USA Basketball men's team that took 4th place at the 2003 Pan American Games. Prior to that he was assistant coach of the team that had a 5-0 record and won the gold medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games. Izzo served on the Collegiate Committee of USA Basketball's 2005-2008 Quadrennium Committees.
Operation Hardwood
In 2005 and 2006, Izzo participated in Operation Hardwood, in which college coaches went to Kuwait military camps to coach basketball teams of American service members. Among the other coaches were Tubby Smith, Gary Williams, and Rick Barnes. In 2005, Izzo's team won the tournament championship.
Marriage and family
Tom Izzo has been married to his wife, Lupe Marinez Izzo since 1992. They have a daughter, Raquel, and an adopted son, Steven.
Head coaching record
See also
- List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach
- NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament consecutive appearances
References
External links
- Official website
- Michigan State profile
- Tom Izzo at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Source of article : Wikipedia
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