The buzz on coaches lately has revolved around two names: Rick Pitino and John Calipari.
Pitino just led Louisville to a No. 1 overall seed and its third NCAA Elite Eight appearance in the last five years, and Calipari just left Memphis for Kentucky with a career record of 445-140 in 17 seasons, inking an eight-year deal worth $31.65 millions that will make him the highest-paid basketball coach in the country.
However, neither Memphis nor Louisville will be dancing in Detroit for the Final Four this weekend.
Who will be there, is the coach that is a household name but always seems to fly under the radar of names like Pitino and Calipari: Michigan State's Tom Izzo, the greatest coach college basketball has to offer right now.
Over the past decade, there have been some amazing NCAA basketball programs and coaches. Sure Billy Donovan won back-to-back titles with Florida, but where have the Gators been since? UConn has also won two titles in 11 years, and sure Kansas has been to two national title games (winning one) but the Jayhawks did that with Roy Williams and Bill coaching from the sidelines and bringing in 5-star recruits every year.
Izzo's resume is top-notch and should be acclaimed the greatest. Here's Izzo's line: he's taken the Spartans to the NCAA tournament all 10 years, made six Sweet 16 appearances, made four Final Fours (his fifth this year), and won a national championship.
What separates Izzo from all the other coaches is his quick and defensively-based style of play, and ability to win without multiple 5-star recruits coming in year after year after year after year...
If you're still not settled on the notion that Izzo is the best coach right now, here's a fun fact for you: now that senior Travis Walton will be making his first trip to the Final Four, every senior to play for Tom Izzo over this period of time has either won a Big Ten Tournament Championship of reached the Final Four.
Also, every four year player Izzo has brought in has the claim of playing in a Final Four come Saturday. No other coach out there has done anything close to those sorts. He also solidified his reign when the Spartans manhandled Pitino's squad in the Elite Eight, handing them a 64-52 loss on March 29.
"It's as big a win as our school has had because we're going to Detroit, and that's been a dream and a goal since they announced where the Final Four was in 2009," Izzo said.
He may not have the best talent or an appealing style of play (see Goran Suton), but he gets the job done with consistency.
How sweet it would be for Izzo and the Spartans to win in their fifth Final Four in 11 years, the most of any program in that span, giving them a post-season rematch with Williams' Tar Heels on Monday for a shot at the national title.
*Photo courtesy onlineathens.com
Note: North Carolina hammered Michigan State 98-63 on Dec. 3rd as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Who will be there, is the coach that is a household name but always seems to fly under the radar of names like Pitino and Calipari: Michigan State's Tom Izzo, the greatest coach college basketball has to offer right now.
Over the past decade, there have been some amazing NCAA basketball programs and coaches. Sure Billy Donovan won back-to-back titles with Florida, but where have the Gators been since? UConn has also won two titles in 11 years, and sure Kansas has been to two national title games (winning one) but the Jayhawks did that with Roy Williams and Bill coaching from the sidelines and bringing in 5-star recruits every year.
Izzo's resume is top-notch and should be acclaimed the greatest. Here's Izzo's line: he's taken the Spartans to the NCAA tournament all 10 years, made six Sweet 16 appearances, made four Final Fours (his fifth this year), and won a national championship.
What separates Izzo from all the other coaches is his quick and defensively-based style of play, and ability to win without multiple 5-star recruits coming in year after year after year after year...
If you're still not settled on the notion that Izzo is the best coach right now, here's a fun fact for you: now that senior Travis Walton will be making his first trip to the Final Four, every senior to play for Tom Izzo over this period of time has either won a Big Ten Tournament Championship of reached the Final Four.
Also, every four year player Izzo has brought in has the claim of playing in a Final Four come Saturday. No other coach out there has done anything close to those sorts. He also solidified his reign when the Spartans manhandled Pitino's squad in the Elite Eight, handing them a 64-52 loss on March 29.
"It's as big a win as our school has had because we're going to Detroit, and that's been a dream and a goal since they announced where the Final Four was in 2009," Izzo said.
He may not have the best talent or an appealing style of play (see Goran Suton), but he gets the job done with consistency.
How sweet it would be for Izzo and the Spartans to win in their fifth Final Four in 11 years, the most of any program in that span, giving them a post-season rematch with Williams' Tar Heels on Monday for a shot at the national title.
*Photo courtesy onlineathens.com
Note: North Carolina hammered Michigan State 98-63 on Dec. 3rd as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
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