Tom Izzo insists he will remain as coach of the Michigan State basketball program, foregoing still more offers to make the job to the NBA.
"First of all, I'm going to be at Michigan State,'' Izzo told ESPN on Wednesday. "I still listen to things every day in our town about Nick Saban saying I'm not going to be the Alabama coach when Saban was coach of the Miami Dolphins. Nobody knows where any of us are going to be. You have to look at your track record and, over all these years, is this what he's done?"
Izzo has manned the sidelines for the Spartans for nearly two decades now, winning the national title in 2000 and reaching the FInal Four on six other occasions. Michigan State advanced to the Elite Eight this season, losing to eventual champion UConn.
"I heard my name mentioned with jobs over the years and even this year nobody has talked to me even once,'' Izzo added. "So if I'm good enough to coach in that league, and someone thinks I am, I should be good enough to coach college players.''
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Over the years and through all the reported offers, some the most extensive talks Izzo had with any NBA team came in 2010, when he engaged in talks with the Cleveland Cavs, desperate at that point to do all the could to keep LeBron James in town.
"The NBA is the NBA and it's the top of our profession,'' said Izzo, who added that it's unfair for pundits to question why a coach would consider a job for more money. "Everybody is going to take care of their family. The only thing that disappoints me about college is that we're getting like the NBA -- money, TV contracts and the way we're doing things with expansion of leagues and traveling all over the world. Unlike football, we have a game on the road at 9 p.m and get back at 3 a.m. and have academic issues. We're not a Saturday game-type thing.
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