Traverse City Record-Eagle

James Cook

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April 2, 2010

James Cook: Don't worry about Izzo leaving

Tom Izzo isn't going anywhere -- except likely to a few more Final Fours.

The Michigan State basketball coach and figurehead for the entire state of Michigan has become the go-to name for any big school that has a coaching vacancy. And no matter how many times he says he isn't interested, his name still is brought up.

He's not going.

From growing up in the U.P., to working his way up the coaching ladder from the high school and small college ranks, to shucking corn in commercials for the state, to being recognized everywhere he goes in the Great Lakes State, he represents everything that is good about Michigan.

He realizes that.

He's an institution, and leaving our great state would be a deflating loss for an area already hard-hit by economic woes.

He knows that, too.

Aside from a brief, two-month assistant coaching gig at Tulsa, Izzo has never coached for an employer outside the state of Michigan. There's no reason to think that will change any time soon.

The only job that could possibly lure Izzo away from Michigan State is to one day coach the Detroit Pistons, and even that isn't too likely.

Heck, he would win in a landslide if he ran for governor.

Don't worry about rumors that Oregon is courting Izzo with offers of bundles of cash that would make him the highest-paid college basketball coach.

If he wanted to leave, he's had plenty of opportunity -- and for a lot of money. And he hasn't.

So Tubby Smith can feel free to jump at Oregon's boatload of Nike cash. He doesn't have any real connections to Minnesota and has a history of jumping from one program to another if the offer is right.

While Smith and Izzo may be on Oregon's final wishlist, it's Izzo's string of Final Four appearances -- six in 12 years, counting this year's run -- that sets him apart from his contemporaries.

Under Izzo, the Spartans have never finished below .500 -- either overall or in Big Ten play. The winning percentage of teams trying to pry the charismatic coach away from MSU is substantially less.

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