MichaelCarras

March 24th, 2024 at 8:21 PM ^

Tubby Smith has been to one Final Four. Fisher has been to three. Izzo has been to eight. 

There is plenty to criticize Izzo for so there is no need to diminish his coaching record to criticize. It is what Ohio State people do with Harbaugh and it is never not ridiculous when I see it.  Michigan fans shouldn't do it with Izzo.

 

MichaelCarras

March 24th, 2024 at 8:12 PM ^

It wasn't that long ago he went to the Sweet 16 or better 7 times in 8 years.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Izzo

 

Besides the fact that I don't care about Michigan State and don't even see them as a rival to Michigan, I will never understand acting like all time great coaches are mediocre. It is retarded when Ohio State fans do it with Harbaugh. It makes no sense to do with Izzo. 

MH20

March 25th, 2024 at 10:27 AM ^

It wasn't that long ago he went to the Sweet 16 or better 7 times in 8 years.

That streak, while impressive, ended nine years ago. The college basketball landscape has changed a lot since then and Izzo has not adapted. Over the past eight tournaments (no NCAAT in 2020), his teams made it out of the first weekend twice: 2019's FF run and last season.

Izzo isn't a mediocre coach overall but I'd argue he's been replacement-level for at least the last four seasons.

bronxblue

March 24th, 2024 at 9:06 PM ^

Yeah, I mean I guess there's analysis going on there but my ears were bleeding pretty quickly so not sure how long it went on.

Izzo is a "Hall of Famer" in the sense that if a baseball player plays 22 seasons to collect 500 home runs, I guess they should be considered "Hall of Fame" worthy.  He's been a pretty good coach at one school for 24 years but outside of that 2000 title I'm not sure I ever saw a team he coached realistically challenge for a title.  He's made 2 title games in his career and had long stretches where he'd make one long run to, say, the final four surrounded by a bunch of early exits.  And now he doesn't even have those final four runs.

He's a solid coach but it's weird he gets talked about with names like Coach K, Roy Williams, Bill Self, Calipari, etc. because he's. not come close to accomplishing what they have.  Hell, Jay Wright seemingly gets less respect nationally and his teams won multiple titles.

MichaelCarras

March 24th, 2024 at 10:07 PM ^

"He's made 2 title games in his career and had long stretches where he'd make one long run to, say, the final four surrounded by a bunch of early exits"

"He's a solid coach but it's weird he gets talked about with names like Coach K, Roy Williams, Bill Self, Calipari, etc."

I mean.. He's been to 8 final fours.  That seems notable. 

Final Fours

Coach K-13

Williams- 9

Izzo-8

Calipari- 6

Bill Self - 4

Jay Wright-4

bronxblue

March 24th, 2024 at 10:33 PM ^

Sorry, I was incorrect about the number of seasons Izzo coached.  He's been at MSU for 29 years, not 24.  So in context, let's note that Jay Wright won 2 titles and went to 4 FF in 20 seasons @Nova, Bill Self also won 2 titles and went to 4 FF in 20 years, Williams won 3 titles in his 9 appearances over 33 seasons, and even Calipari (who is also a borderline HOF-type coach) won his title and got 4 of those FF bids in 15 seasons at Kentucky.  Mark Few hasn't won a title but he's gotten Gonzaga to 2 FF in 25 years and at a place that had no real history of success before he showed up.  

I guess that's my point with Izzo - he sticks around long enough to collect these somewhat-meaningless stats such as the final four visits but he's turned all of those into exactly 1 title and 1 more title appearance.  And he's failed to make it out of the first weekend 11 times.  John Beilein didn't win a title but his two FF runs ended in the title game, and yet I don't ever see him referred to (outside of UM circles) as an elite coach or a no-doubt HOFer.  

I guess that's my thing - Izzo is a good coach but he's a plugger moreso than some virtuoso, and yet he's treated like some demigod because he's stuck around a long time.  This was a preseason top-5 team that limped into the tournament and got shown the door by the first competent team they faced.  It was one of the most experienced squads in the country, and yet looked lost and disinterested for most of the season.  Next year is likely going to be just as hairy, if not moreso, given who they're losing.  

He's not a bad coach by any means but I've just never gotten the degree of reverence he's received compared to his actual accomplishments.  

mooseman

March 24th, 2024 at 10:40 PM ^

His shoulder pads, "bang down low" mentality appeals to people of a certain age many of whom also pine for the days coaches behaved like Bobby Knight on the sidelines. He's won despite himself for a few years, IMO. The biggest mystery and the thing I have to hand to him, is that he can attract some kids with talent to play for his sorry ass in his sorry system.

Casco Goat

March 25th, 2024 at 2:25 AM ^

I'm always legitimately shocked when a 5-star or a Mr. Basketball signs with MSU. Don't get me wrong, I'd love for them to succeed there, but Izzo's track record speaks for itself. He's successful enough and has been successful enough that they'll never fire him without a scandal, but he's also plateaued pretty hard. I can remember being on campus in 2004 and hearing the same stuff they say now. He squanders talent, he doesn't play freshmen, he doesn't understand kids, he won't change. That was twenty years ago, and I haven't seen a title since 2000.

funkywolve

March 25th, 2024 at 8:35 AM ^

If a Michigan basketball coach had Izzo's record, we'd be talking about how great he is but since Izzo is at MSU, people try to downplay his accomplishments.

Has Izzo seemed to slip in recent years, no doubt but acting like 8 Final Fours and 1 National Title is just due to longevity seems a bit like sour grapes.

HollywoodHokeHogan

March 24th, 2024 at 9:28 PM ^

It’s silly to act as if literally every team doesn’t have dozens and dozens of defensive breakdowns in a game. There are so many possessions that you could pull clips from great defensive teams doing this same stuff multiple times a game.  So it’s trivially easy to find stuff like this and scream about it.
 

Nonetheless, it was kind of funny (for a few minutes).  The one on Kansas with him screaming at Hunter for failing to properly hedge on a pick and then not getting back to his man will feel familiar to some.  

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

March 24th, 2024 at 9:44 PM ^

Congratulations to anyone who can listen to that for more than a minute.  I made it about 50 seconds.  Amazed that dude didn't have a stroke after nine minutes of screaming.

TruBluMich

March 24th, 2024 at 9:49 PM ^

I'm not an Izzo fan but this YouTube screamer completely ignores the fact that Izzo has forgotten more about basketball than he knows.  Which could be the problem with MSU's recent lack of success.  Watching a successful play on TV with a pause a button and screaming about what went wrong is easy.

ixcuincle

March 25th, 2024 at 7:58 AM ^

Izzo is a solid coach that being said all that hype about his March play only to have UNC go 5-0 against him all time including 2 national championship gaffes in 2005 and 2009...lol

dieseljr32

March 25th, 2024 at 8:52 AM ^

It became apparent to me that he wasn't going to get over the hump when he had that group with Tillman, Bridges, JJJ, Cassius Winston and didn't get a title with them.