AROUND THE NATION
March 26, 2010
College Basketball's Top Coach?
 Who's
the best coach in college basketball?
If you're in your 20's and answering that question,
you'll probably say John Calipari.
Older folks will probably be split between Mike
Krzyzewski and Jim Calhoun because they've had time
to savor their entire bodies of work. Roy Williams
and Jim Boeheim will also get some votes with the
gray hairs as well, and deservedly so.
Back-to-back titles will get Billy Donovan a few
votes among the hardware gazing set. I can see Bill
Self also popping up as an answer due to his recent
title run.
But why doesn't Tom Izzo seem to get more love in
relation to this question?
Since he took the Michigan State job back in 1995,
Izzo's six Final Four appearances are more than any
of the aforementioned coaches. Add to that the title
he won in 2000 and you've got a body of work that’s
as solid as anybody currently working.
So why do I feel like the guy is underappreciated?
He said it himself in the postgame presser following
Michigan State's Regional Final win over Tennessee,
the Big Ten is a much maligned league.
Never mind the fact that that five different Big Ten
schools have made Final Four appearances in the last
ten years. The prevailing notion is that if the ball
is round and orange, then the league is a step
behind the Big East and ACC and possibly a half step
behind the Big 12.
Therefore, does Izzo suffer from guilt by
association? Hey, don't blame the dude because of
his school's affiliation. He's proven himself to be
extremely proficient at beating opposition from any
league.
How about his postseason work, do folks hold it
against him because he's generated one championship
out of six Final Four appearances? Is he perceived
as the Bobby Cox of college basketball?
People love coaches who win a lot, that’s the
understatement of the year right there. But if a
coach wins a lot without filling the trophy case,
that’s somehow a source of criticism. The
implication is that every coach with a high winning
percentage should win as many titles as John Wooden.
But only John Wooden was able to win as much as John
Wooden.
Keeping that in mind, what about Coach K winning
three titles out of 10 previous Final Four
appearances? Roy Williams has cashed in on two out
of his seven Final Fours while John Calipari whiffed
in his two chances. In terms of percentages, those
aren’t exactly Wooden-esque numbers.
Jim Calhoun is two for three in Final Fours and the
same can be said for Billy Donovan. But neither of
those coaches has consistently navigated their teams
to the sport’s final weekend the way that Izzo has.
In an era with no Wooden, the last thing Izzo should
have to do is defend his postseason record because
it stacks up with anyone’s.
Maybe relative lack of star power keeps people from
warming up to Izzo. Sports fans gravitate to the
superstars, that’s why getting a Johnny Bench out of
a pack of baseball cards was about a thousand times
better than getting a Biff Pocoroba. And college
hoops fans crave superstars as much as everyone
else.
But in an era of one and done players, true
superstars are fewer and farther between. Kevin
Durant shone brightly for a season and then was
gone, as was Carmelo Anthony. We hardly got to know
Derrick Rose and Brandan Wright hung around just
long enough to tantalize us.
During the past decade, Izzo hasn’t had a one and
done wonder child or a four-year player who evolved
into a Tim Duncan. That lack of star power is
especially glaring when you look back over the past
ten NBA Drafts and see which college hoops
luminaries have coached top ten picks:
Jim Calhoun = 7
Mike Krzyzewski = 6
Roy Williams = 5
Rick Barnes = 4
Billy Donovan = 4
John Calipari = 3
Jim Boeheim = 2
Ben Howland = 2
Tom Izzo = 1
I’m not implying that Izzo is taking a bunch of rag
tag kids that nobody else wanted and coaching them
all to glory. The current Spartan roster is filled
with players who were highly regarded coming out of
high school…but there doesn’t appear to be a single
lottery pick among them.
Izzo just doesn’t generate stars, and when you don’t
notice a coach’s players, before too long you might
stop noticing the coach.
However, his skills in identifying personnel and
getting players to fit his system are unmatched. He
recruits very good players and subsequently gets
great results out of them. Take the case of forward
Draymond Green.
Green might end up making All-Big Ten first team
before his career is done, but the odds are against
it. The sophomore doesn’t average 20 points a game
and he’s not filling highlight reels with jaw
dropping dunks.
However, Green’s value to the Spartan cause is off
the charts. He’s a solid rebounder who’s helped his
team lead the nation in rebounding margin for two
seasons running. Also, few players his size possess
the kind of passing ability that he does.
In this NCAA Tournament he’s set up the game winning
plays against both Maryland and Tennessee. In doing
so he showed off a high basketball IQ that can be
traced right back to the coaching of Tom Izzo.
Green’s calmness under fire is reflected in his
teammates as well. The Spartans, who’ve wrestled
with injury problems all season long, have won their
four tournament games by a combined 13 points. In
crunch time this team has flat out refused to beat
itself.
This has been by far Izzo’s best coaching job since
he’s been at Michigan State, and that’s saying a
lot. With two more wins he can claim a second
championship and stop being an afterthought in the
best coach debate.
John Stansberry is in his thirteenth season as
a senior writer for collegeinsider.com. Check out
John's blog
LonelyTailgater.com.
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