Poll Reveals Izzo Is Coaches’ Top Choice

Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/article/20120824/SPORTS07/120824035/tom-izzo-michigan-state-basketball-cbs-sports-cbssports?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Michigan%20State%20Spartans

CBSSports.com completed its anonymous poll of college basketball coaches today with this question: “”If you could pick any active coach to lead your program, who would it be?”

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo placed first, with 27% of the vote. Bill Self of Kansas came in second, at 23%, with Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski finishing third, at 10%.

One coach said of Izzo: “He’s clean, he wins, and he can really, really coach. If Coach K were a few years younger, it might be a tough call. But you’ve got to go with Izzo, because he has the whole package.”

Here’s what CBS’s Jeff Goodman had to say about the vote:

“I’ve always maintained that I’d start my program with Tom Izzo — and evidently, the vast majority of college basketball coaches agree with me.

“They must have been voting from the bar, Izzo joked, after learning he received the most tallies. Seriously, though, that’s a big honor coming from the coaches, one of the best you can get. There are so many great coaches out there, and I honestly, am just fortunate to be in their company.

“Izzo, 57, edged out Kansas’ Bill Self — which was a bit of a surprise. Self, 49, beat out guys such as Coach K, Billy Donovan, Rick Pitino and John Calipari. Then again, after the job Self did this past season in getting the Jayhawks to the national championship game, he’s certainly got recent momentum. He’s proven he’s not just a recruiter, but can also coach a bit as well.

“But Izzo pulled away from Self and everyone else. He’s got a national title under his belt (in 2000), has gone to a half-dozen Final Fours and made 10 Sweet 16 appearances since taking over in 1995. He’s one of the elite X’s-and-O’s guys in the country, he works as hard as just about any head coach — and he has the reputation of playing by the rules.

“Izzo flat-out gets it, in just about every area. He can always be counted upon to play a hellacious nonconference schedule, he’s often honest to a fault — and he often gets the most out of his talent. It’s not as if Michigan State has been putting players into the NBA at an excessive rate, but Izzo still finds a way to get just about everything he can out of his teams and go deep into March on a regular basis.

“Michigan State is a great program, but it’s not Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina — or even Duke or UCLA. It’s probably somewhere in the 10 to 15 range when ranking the overall programs, but Izzo has helped turn it into elite. Want further proof? The Spartans were included in the Champions Classic, the recent three-year round-robin event that also boasts Kentucky, Kansas and Duke.”

Poll Reveals Izzo Is Coaches’ Top Choice

Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/article/20120824/SPORTS07/120824035/tom-izzo-michigan-state-basketball-cbs-sports-cbssports?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Michigan%20State%20Spartans

CBSSports.com completed its anonymous poll of college basketball coaches today with this question: “If you could pick any active coach to lead your program, who would it be?”

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo placed first, with 27% of the vote. Bill Self of Kansas came in second, at 23%, with Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski finishing third, at 10%.

One coach said of Izzo: “He’s clean, he wins, and he can really, really coach. If Coach K were a few years younger, it might be a tough call. But you’ve got to go with Izzo, because he has the whole package.”

Here’s what CBS’s Jeff Goodman had to say about the vote:

“I’ve always maintained that I’d start my program with Tom Izzo — and evidently, the vast majority of college basketball coaches agree with me.

“They must have been voting from the bar, Izzo joked, after learning he received the most tallies. Seriously, though, that’s a big honor coming from the coaches, one of the best you can get. There are so many great coaches out there, and I honestly, am just fortunate to be in their company.

“Izzo, 57, edged out Kansas’ Bill Self — which was a bit of a surprise. Self, 49, beat out guys such as Coach K, Billy Donovan, Rick Pitino and John Calipari. Then again, after the job Self did this past season in getting the Jayhawks to the national championship game, he’s certainly got recent momentum. He’s proven he’s not just a recruiter, but can also coach a bit as well.

“But Izzo pulled away from Self and everyone else. He’s got a national title under his belt (in 2000), has gone to a half-dozen Final Fours and made 10 Sweet 16 appearances since taking over in 1995. He’s one of the elite X’s-and-O’s guys in the country, he works as hard as just about any head coach — and he has the reputation of playing by the rules.

“Izzo flat-out gets it, in just about every area. He can always be counted upon to play a hellacious nonconference schedule, he’s often honest to a fault — and he often gets the most out of his talent. It’s not as if Michigan State has been putting players into the NBA at an excessive rate, but Izzo still finds a way to get just about everything he can out of his teams and go deep into March on a regular basis.

“Michigan State is a great program, but it’s not Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina — or even Duke or UCLA. It’s probably somewhere in the 10 to 15 range when ranking the overall programs, but Izzo has helped turn it into elite. Want further proof? The Spartans were included in the Champions Classic, the recent three-year round-robin event that also boasts Kentucky, Kansas and Duke.”