Izzo's Spartans had a mighty nice Thursday
Posted: Thursday, October 29, 2009 8:45 PM
Filed Under:
Big Ten
Tom Izzo had himself a nice little Thursday.
Michigan State was ranked second in the AP and coaches’ polls, picked to win the Big Ten and even secured a commitment from a Top 25 prospect. If that wasn’t enough, his point guard, junior Kalin Lucas, was the Big Ten’s preseason player of the year.
Al Goldis/AP |
Tom Izzo's all revved up about reaching another Final Four.
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Take a bow, Spartans.
And to those who wonder if Purdue – which returned all of its key players, compared to MSU losing three key players – should’ve been the pick in the Big Ten, Boilermakers coach Matt Painter says that’s just silly.
“Here’s the difference,” Painter said Thursday. “They won the Big Ten by four games; they went to the final game and came a win away from winning the national championship We were the team that was four games behind them. We won two games in the NCAA tournament; they won five.”
Illinois coach Bruce Weber echoed that sentiment. It’s not about what Izzo has this year, it’s about everything he’s done at Michigan State.
“Some guys asked me about building a program,” Weber said. “It’s one thing to do it once — then from 4-8 years at a place where can you maintain it, then make that hump. It’s just amazing what he’s done.”
And, by getting a guy like Adreian Payne, Izzo’s program will only get better. (More details on Payne here.) He’s the cream of already solid recruiting crop that features Keith Appling, Russell Byrd and Alex Gauna.
Might be doing this post again next year…
Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.
