[datek23]

I predict Ton Izzo of Michigan State. This guy is a genius, last couple years this guy has had nothing and this man still wins. Ever since watching MSU beat Florida several years made a big fan of his, especially the team he had probably the greatest NBA talent that was ever assembled on one team on one NCAA team...think I am joking?

Jason Richardson
Zach Randolph
Morris Peterson
Charlie Bell
Mateen Cleeves--He was considered the best of the bunch

I think there where couple more people made it to the NBA, does anyone know else?

[datek23]

I predict Ton Izzo of Michigan State. This guy is a genius, last couple years this guy has had nothing and this man still wins. Ever since watching MSU beat Florida several years made a big fan of his, especially the team he had probably the greatest NBA talent that was ever assembled on one team on one NCAA team...think I am joking?

Jason Richardson
Zach Randolph
Morris Peterson
Charlie Bell
Mateen Cleeves--He was considered the best of the bunch

I think there where couple more people made it to the NBA, does anyone know else?

Andre Hutson got drafted but didnt pan out. I think there where maybe 2 0r 3 that where drafted.

[jjgold]

Calipari might get it or Donovan

[Illusion]

Donovan isn't going anywhere coach, trust me.

[EaglesPhan36]

Travis Ford

[BuddyBear]

Tom Izzo is as good as it gets....but he is not going anywhere.

They've had a steady stream of talent go the NBA since he took over:

Morris Peterson
Jason Richardson
Mateen Cleeves
Charlie Bell
Zach Randolph
Shannon Brown
Maurice Ager
Paul Davis
and a few others I am forgetting....

Remember Izzo took over a dormant program at MSU...a program that was trying to get to the NIT every year while MICH ruled the state in basketball. My how things changed quickly. Izzo is basically king of Michigan...he could run for public office and win in a landslide that is how admired he is. He grew up in Michigan and has been affiliated with MSU for his entire career. He is an insitution there. He makes close to 2 million not including media deals. He has a lifetime contract and is the Dean of the Big Ten coaches.

Moreover, next year's team will be his best since 2001 that will undoubtedly be the the preseason big ten pick. He has a top 5 recruiting class. He has all his starters returning, and the regional finals are going to be in Ford Field next March. Assuming MSU can get out of the first and second round they have a clear path to the Final Four. Izzo would be foolish to leave.

We aren't talking a major step up...KY would be a latteral move if anything.

What Izzo will do is flirt a little bit with them....so you can secure more money for himself....by the end of the day, he'll back at MSU. He will be one of the very few coahces in sports who will leave under his own terms.

[bigboydan]

Travis Ford

I could see that happening for sure. He did play there after he transfered from Missouri.

[EaglesPhan36]

If they can't make that "big" splash with all these names being thrown about, I think the logical step is to get a former player. Ford seemed to be getting alot of back pats for turning UMASS back into a decent program.

[Catsfan]

Michigan St to Kentucky is not a lateral move? The last few years these programs have been on the same level. Both were at the top of college basketball a few years back and right now they have fallen back. But in terms of top programs Kentucky is on a different level than michigan St. The right coach at Kentucky will put them back on top a lot sooner than it would Michigan St. I think it is generally accepted that the top 5 programs in college basketball are
Kentucky
UCLA
North Carolina
Kansas
Indiana

There are other programs that will have a nice streak for maybe 5 to 10 years but there is no comparison to the 5 programs listed above.

I agree Tom Izzo is one of the top coaches in the country and I'm not saying he would leave Michigan St for Kentucky but to say that it is a lateral move from Michigan St to Kentucky is absord.

[Catsfan]

I could see that happening for sure. He did play there after he transfered from Missouri.

Travis isn't ready yet.

[Seattle Slew]

BB, I know you're a better authority on MSU basketball than me, but I think saying they were a dormant program is not true. Under Jud Heathcote, didn't MSU make the NCAAs like 7 of his last 10 years there? Heathcote's record was spotty for sure in the years after the NCAA title, but his teams usually played well in the NCAAs when they made it.

Izzo certainly took the program to the next level for sure. I don't see him leaving for Kentucky. Too many headaches.

[QUOTE=BuddyBear;242379]Remember Izzo took over a dormant program at MSU...a program that was trying to get to the NIT every year while MICH ruled the state in basketball.

[Razz]

Michigan St to Kentucky is not a lateral move? The last few years these programs have been on the same level. Both were at the top of college basketball a few years back and right now they have fallen back. But in terms of top programs Kentucky is on a different level than michigan St. The right coach at Kentucky will put them back on top a lot sooner than it would Michigan St. I think it is generally accepted that the top 5 programs in college basketball are
Kentucky
UCLA
North Carolina
Kansas
Indiana

There are other programs that will have a nice streak for maybe 5 to 10 years but there is no comparison to the 5 programs listed above.

I agree Tom Izzo is one of the top coaches in the country and I'm not saying he would leave Michigan St for Kentucky but to say that it is a lateral move from Michigan St to Kentucky is absord.

It's not absurd at all. In fact, it's probably being generous to Kentucky.
Would you consider Virginia Tech football and Alabama football a lateral move? I think Virginia Tech is the football equivalent of Michigan State basketball. Both have a great coach, and have, under the current head coach, built a program that, over the past decade, has been one of the ten best programs in the country. Alabama is unquestionably a top-5 football program. Yet, to me, Virginia Tech is clearly the better program right now.

[Dirty D]

Billy Gillespie of A&M is on the short list but he is being recruited by Arkansas as well.

Peace,
Ryan

[BuddyBear]

To be honest, I was being somewhat generous in saying KY is a lateral move from MSU just b/c the respect I have for their program and fans. Sorry and with all do respect, who cares what Kentucky did in the 1940 and 1960s and such....not relevant these days and if anything it can be a major obstacle for recruiting a coach.

Right now, MSU is clearly the better program the past 10 year by any objective measure. Kentucky is a great program for sure but why would Izzo leave MSU for KY? It just does not make any sense. There is no advantage whatsoever to such a move for him.

I mean, Yale is one of the greatest college football programs of all time...what does that matter...nobody is going to go there.

[BuddyBear]

[QUOTE=Seattle Slew;242483]BB, I know you're a better authority on MSU basketball than me, but I think saying they were a dormant program is not true. Under Jud Heathcote, didn't MSU make the NCAAs like 7 of his last 10 years there? Heathcote's record was spotty for sure in the years after the NCAA title, but his teams usually played well in the NCAAs when they made it.

Izzo certainly took the program to the next level for sure. I don't see him leaving for Kentucky. Too many headaches.

Remember Izzo took over a dormant program at MSU...a program that was trying to get to the NIT every year while MICH ruled the state in basketball.

You are right SS, doormat may be exaggerating it a bit but clearly things had gone south during Heathcote's final few years and MSU was going to NIT's and such...compound with the success of Michigan in the early to mid-1990s it didn't look good.

Izzo did a great job to restore the program and maintain it a very high level.

[Mason]

Michigan St to Kentucky is not a lateral move? The last few years these programs have been on the same level. Both were at the top of college basketball a few years back and right now they have fallen back. But in terms of top programs Kentucky is on a different level than michigan St. The right coach at Kentucky will put them back on top a lot sooner than it would Michigan St. I think it is generally accepted that the top 5 programs in college basketball are
Kentucky
UCLA
North Carolina
Kansas
Indiana

There are other programs that will have a nice streak for maybe 5 to 10 years but there is no comparison to the 5 programs listed above.

I agree Tom Izzo is one of the top coaches in the country and I'm not saying he would leave Michigan St for Kentucky but to say that it is a lateral move from Michigan St to Kentucky is absord.

CatsFan....

I think you have to include Duke as a generally accepted top-5 program regardless of how many years you go back, Mich St is sexy now, Florida is hard to ignore , while Indiana hasn't been dominant in over a decade and most recruits don't even know who Bobbt Knight or Isaiah Thomas are.

I think it is a lateral move for Izzo at this point and he wouldn't think of it. UK finds itself in a bind.....They're going to have to roll the dice on someome up and coming. That is unless they can get Calipari......That is who I would be pulling for if I was Catsfan.

[Mason]

BuddyBoy, growing up a Big-10 fan I recall Jud Heathcoate and Magic winning an NC and then being competitive year and year out. I recall them being better than Michigan overall other than the fab-5 run. Of course this is just my recollection as a boy and young man, I haven't actualy botherd to check those pesky facts.

[pags11]

razz,

jeff green called...he wants his hook shot back...

[BuddyBear]

BuddyBoy, growing up a Big-10 fan I recall Jud Heathcoate and Magic winning an NC and then being competitive year and year out. I recall them being better than Michigan overall other than the fab-5 run. Of course this is just my recollection as a boy and young man, I haven't actualy botherd to check those pesky facts.

Well in 1989 Michigan won it all, and then in 1991 and 1992 they played in the national championship game twice. The former was the year Steve Fisher took over in the tournament and the latter was the Fab 5 years....granted they were cheating in those years.....but UM managed to put together some very strong years in the early 1990s. In short, they were a very dominant program while MSU was not as sharp....and even when Izzo took over they were an NIT team his first two years....and in Jud's last year they lost an opening round game to Weber State in the NCAA tournament. So it was not the best time for the Spartans....That national championship was in 1979....so by the 1990s that was quite a while ago.

[EBone]

Kentucky can still command a name in my opinion. Kentucky basketball is still Kentucky basketball. Maybe Izzo is a stretch but certainly Callipari isn't as long as his ego doesn't get in the way. I am pretty sure that Callipari does not want to be compared to Pitino anymore. It really gets under his skin and I think, if he interviews for the Kentucky job, the comparisons will start.

I'd love to see Travis Ford get it but I don't think that is a possibility. He's a Kentucky native as well. He understands the tradition and my guess would be that he would work harder than anyone as the UK head coach.

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Pitino was a candidate.



E

[EBone]

Now, if Pitino was a candidate, that would probably get Callipari in the mix. Callipari would love to say "Kentucky chose me over Pitino". Callipari would absolutely relish that.


E

[Willie Bee]

Though I don't see it happening, I hope it's Rick Barnes just to leave some egg on the faces of the morons who scribe for the San Antonio Express-News

[Razz]

Apparently, Billy Donovan. WOW!

Two stations out of Lexington are reporting that he signed a 7-year, $28 million deal.

[Seattle Slew]

Before his team plays a Final 4 game? Wow.

Apparently, Billy Donovan. WOW!

Two stations out of Lexington are reporting that he signed a 7-year, $28 million deal.

[EaglesPhan36]

That's the worst rumor ever.

[pags11]

I'm just not buying that Donovan's leaving Kentucky...Gillespie would be a good hire...

[Razz]

Why wouldn't Donovan leave Florida? He's losing his entire starting lineup after Saturday or Monday.

[Razz]

Why wouldn't Donovan leave Florida? He's losing his entire starting lineup after Saturday or Monday.

Actually, I'll be surprised if Donovan is the coach at Florida next season. Even if these reports are false, I'm expecting him to leave for the NBA.

[EaglesPhan36]

If Donovan still talks to Pitino, he should know that he'd be a F-ing fool to go to the pros.

[Seattle Slew]

As long as Pitino isn't his general manager, I think he'd do OK.

The few great colleges coaches who also succeeded in the pros (Larry Brown for one) understood you have to have veteran players on your roster and quality guys if you can find them.

That's what Pitino never understood. He thought his system of coaching could get a team of 23-year-olds to win in the NBA because of his coaching. Some other guys (Lon Kruger) just had bad teams.

If Donovan still talks to Pitino, he should know that he'd be a F-ing fool to go to the pros.

[jjgold]

Any coach that leaves a school does so because talent not their anymore.

The best coach available is Bobby Knight but he woud never get the job. It would of been interesting if he ever coached real good players like the other coaches. Can you imagine the general coaching NC? Lol..they would never lose.