By Mark Wilson
November 15, 2014

Sorry Jud, you’re now third.

When Michigan State takes the floor Friday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Maryland, Tom Izzo passes his mentor Jud Heathcote for time served as the Spartans’ head basketball coach.

Season number 20.

It puts Izzo ahead of Jud and behind Ben VanAlstyne who coached MSU from 1926 through 1949.

Heathcote retired following his 19th campaign at the helm back in 1995. Izzo was his natural replacement; approved by then-AD Merrily Dean Baker.

There was no coaching search, no drama, no real second-guessing. Izzo was in place and had earned his position.

To this day… he acts like a guy who just got the gig.

Oh sure he’s had his dalliances with the NBA. Over the years the flirt has extended from Atlanta to Cleveland to the Bay Area. No fewer than six pro franchises have made significant offers to the graduate of Northern Michigan University.

After all was said and done, Izzo and his family (wife Lupe and kids Raquel and Steven) chose to remain in the greater Lansing area.

If EVER there was a small town dude living in a big boy world… it’s Tom Izzo.

Heathcote has the same number of national championships won as a Michigan State basketball coach.

One.

Jud likes to tell the story that the only NBA team that came a-callin’ during his Spartan tenure was the Denver Nuggets.

The offer was made following the magical 1979 run by Magic Johnson, Gregory Kelser, et al.

According to Jud, the money was so bad in the league for coaches back then, he would have taken a pay CUT to coach the Nuggets. As it was, he only received a nominal raise for bringing the college crown back to East Lansing; the crown that changed EVERYTHING.

1979 changed the way we view “March Madness” and… it changed the NBA by giving us Magic and Larry Bird.

If Heathcote had coached today? He probably would be making millions and have had NINE offers.

Izzo was certainly the right guy at the right time.

Kind of funny actually.

As the Spartans prepare to take on the Naval Academy, it reminds me of the other time MSU played Navy.

It was around Thanksgiving of 1986.

Earlier in the year, Izzo had left MSU for an assistant’s job at the University of Tulsa.

The ONLY time in his life that he departed the state of Michigan was to join J.D. Barrett in Oklahoma.

Born in Iron Mountain, Michigan and childhood friends with ex-49ers and Lions football coach Steve Mariucci, he made his way to NMU and then on to a prep coaching job at Ishpeming High School.

From Ishpeming, he returned to his Northern Michigan alma mater as an assistant before getting the call from Heathcote to join his staff in 1983.

By 1986, he was 31 years old and had never left the state.

Tulsa would be an adventure!

After only two months of rolling out the balls in the Dust Bowl, Izzo was homesick. I mean, he REALLY did not want to live and work in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

As luck would have it, Jud’s top assistant Mike Deane was anxious to have his own program. Deane accepted an opening at Siena College in Albany, New York. The position became available at a weird time of year.

Jud knew Tom was missing East Lansing and told him to “come home.”

Izzo jumped at it.

He probably would have walked back from Tulsa but Heatcote advised his protégé to drive back instead.

So, Izzo packed his few belongings into his old car and made the trek north. I’m not sure if he even made a single stop along the way.

Summer of 1986, Izzo was back in Michigan.

On November 29th, the Spartans invited Navy to the now-defunct “Cutlass Classic.” It was named for the Oldsmobile Cutlass which is also long defunct.

The Midshipmen featured a seven foot center named David Robinson. All-American in everyone’s book, Robinson scored 43 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in leading Navy to a 91-90 overtime victory at old Jenison Fieldhouse.

“The Admiral” would go on to have a Hall of Fame NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs.

MSU has not played Navy since.

Had Izzo enjoyed his move to Tulsa, he would have never been on the bench for that loss.

Back in those days, one of Izzo’s duties was to make sure Jud made it to his television show on time.

I hosted Heathcote’s coaching program on Lansing TV. It was no small task getting Jud up on a Sunday morning at 6:30 AM for the taping at 8.

Tom was just SO happy to be back in town that he would have carried Jud to the TV station in his arms.

It’s one of the reasons Izzo and I have remained fast friends to this day.

Nine years later, Izzo had his dream job.

His first two seasons in charge were rocky at best.

He went 16-and-16 that first year and then 17-and-12 in the second. Both seasons resulted in trips to the NIT. MSU didn’t make it past the second round in either of those tournaments.

Some questioned whether he was the right choice.

The conference record for Izzo those two campaigns?

18-and-18.

He was only .500 in the Big Ten heading into his third season as head coach. 9-and-9 was good enough for the Spartans to finish 7th and 6th in the conference respectively. On most nights, Izzo was badly beaten by heavyweights like Bobby Knight at Indiana and Gene Keady at Purdue.

In the mid-90’s, Izzo wasn’t even the best coach in the STATE.

Steve Fisher was.

Fisher was still living off that miracle 1989 National Championship for the Wolverines.

After beating Fisher his first two tries, Izzo lost the next FIVE meetings.

It was a quick turnaround however.

From February, 1998 through March of 2010, the Spartans dumped Michigan 18 of 21 times. It didn’t matter if it was at Breslin or Crisler. MSU dominated.

Four different Michigan coaches felt the wrath.

Fisher, Brian Ellerbe, Tom Amaker and John Beilein all succumbed to the Izzo domination until Beilein finally turned it around in 2011.

In fact, since January of ’11, Beilein has beaten Izzo in six of the last nine attempts.

1998 was the impetus.

Going from Big Ten also-ran to champion of the conference happened in one fell swoop.

Knowing the pressure was on, Izzo guided the Spartans to a 13-and-3 Big Ten season and the school’s first conference title since 1990.

Izzo ended up winning FOUR straight regular season crowns in a row.

He’s won only THREE since.

Still, seven “B1G” championships is on his resume along with the four conference tournament titles, 17 consecutive NCAA dances, six Final Four appearances and the 2000 National Championship.

Only five times since this run began in 1998 has Izzo failed to get his Spartans into the Sweet 16.

There is just ONE other college basketball coach that can make that kind of claim.

Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.

Where the critics put their mark on Izzo is the ability of Tom’s program to pump out quality NBA players.

Certainly, more MSU hoopsters make it to the show than people realize. Some are late bloomers like Alan Anderson who is now with the Brooklyn Nets.

Zach Randolph, Jason Richardson, Morris Peterson and Shannon Brown are just a few of the branches off the Izzo tree who have had big success in the NBA.

Mateen Cleaves is referenced as an Izzo disciple who didn’t make it.

Drafted by the Pistons in the first round after the 2000 national title, Cleaves never found an NBA jump shot. He bounced around the league (and two stops in Russia and Greece) until wrapping up his pro career in 2009 with the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League.

Cleaves is now a TV analyst for Fox Sports Detroit.

Granted, of the banners that hang at Breslin honoring retired numbers, just Mateen and Peterson represent the two decades of Izzo stewardship.

Heathcote has SIX of his players’ numbers retired.

Another battle that makes for good sports talk radio fodder is whether or not Izzo has an ELITE program at MSU.

Outsiders say without question that MSU is elite.

Those that watch Michigan State faithfully over the Izzo era disagree. They use the lone national title in 2000 as an example.

Rob Parker argues all the time that until Izzo wins a second national championship, he can’t even be in the same discussion with the likes of Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Coach K and others that have won multiple titles on the big stage.

Even THEN he’s not that sure because Billy Donovan and Denny Crum have won two but Rob doesn’t put their programs in the elite category.

Hey! Parker is a tough grader.

Being a Spartan grad, I excuse myself from the banter because I would stack the MSU basketball world with any other.

Hey! Wilson is an easy grader.

Since 1969, Michigan State has had THREE head coaches.

Gus Ganakas was five games over .500 in his seven year tenure. Gus is still part of the radio broadcast team.

Heathcote went 19 years and finished with a win percentage of .607.
Izzo, starting his 20th season and 32nd on campus, is a lifetime .712. His 439 victories are nearly 100 more than Jud. Tom has about one quarter of ALL victories since hoops became a thing on the collegiate level back in 1898.

Obviously, more games are played today than ever before but Izzo’s work ethic is second to none.

Before Heathcote arrived, MSU had been to ONE Final Four; that coming in 1957 with the legendary Jumpin’ Johnny Green and coached by Forrest “Forddy” Anderson.

Prior to Forddy, Pete Newell was Spartan coach in the early 1950’s. He did win a national championship but… he was at California when he did it.

Izzo broke the mold and all the records.

He had a plan in place the minute Jud stepped aside.

In his two decades as the head man, Izzo has been a part of very little controversy. Some players have transferred; as any program will have.

But, his consistency in recruiting and teaching the game remains his signature.

Being friendly with the media hasn’t hurt either.

To this day he’s still that same small town guy from Iron Mountain. He makes everyone he talks to feel important.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a fledgling writer at the school paper The State News or… if you’re ESPN.

Wife Lupe helps keep him grounded.

I’ve known Lupe about as long as I’ve known Tom. I remember when they dated and how smitten Izzo was early on; just knew they were destined for marriage.

Even with the recent success of the football program, the Izzo’s are the first family of Michigan State athletics.

There is no bigger cheerleader for Mark Dantonio and that football team than Izzo. It’s not a secret that Izzo has a strong passion for football. He even uses football techniques in practice. He’s known to break down football game tape.

Before Dantonio was hired to replace John L. Smith, there was a quick hot rumor that maybe Izzo would move to the Duffy Daugherty Building.

You may laugh… but many didn’t.

Former AD Ron Mason was a huge Izzo fan. Ditto current AD Mark Hollis who at one time was the basketball manager for Heathcote.

Another big fan? MSU President Lou Anna Simon.

Of course she is. Izzo has made the university a TON of money. Buildings have been erected on campus thanks in part to the basketball juggernaut.

Eli Broad is one of the school’s biggest benefactors. He doesn’t go out of his way to single out hoops but believe me; it sure helps separate Broad from his mega fortune.

When the NBA has knocked on Tom’s door, the president, board of trustees and alumni all make positive that Izzo’s door is shut.

Because of that, Izzo is a rich man.

Right now only Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino and John Calipari make more money than Izzo. He lives like a king in Okemos and has job security for years to come.

It hasn’t slowed that work ethic.

High school gyms across the USA have been graced with his presence. It can be a drive up to Flint or a flight thousands of miles away. Izzo works relentlessly to get players willing to don the green and white.

The day that Jabari Parker announced he was choosing Duke over MSU was a tough day in the Izzo household. Lupe shares her husband’s pain when he loses a big recruit. And yes, they take it personal.

Conversely, when he secures the services of quality transfers like Bryn Forbes and Eron Harris for this current squad, Izzo celebrates like a kid at his 10th birthday.

He loves it when one of his former assistants lands a head coaching job.

Mark Montgomery, Brian Gregory and Doug Wojcik are just three of the Izzo coaching tree that have found gainful employment at other schools.

Scott Skiles has coached three different NBA teams and Izzo is proud of that too since Skiles was a Spartan guard when Tom was originally hired.

We used to call Scott, “Little Jud.”

It could have easily been, “Little Tom.”

As far as his OWN pro aspirations, Izzo has been humbled any time a team has inquired about his availability.

Dan Gilbert, a former MSU student, reached out and offered his Cleveland Cavaliers gig to Izzo when LeBron James was “taking his talents to South Beach.” Gilbert wanted nothing more than to join forces with Izzo.

Izzo ended up turning down the job but Gilbert understood because if he could? Dan would probably BUY Michigan State. He gets Tom’s loyalty to the pioneer land grant college.

On January 30, 2015, Izzo will turn 60 years old. His tango with the NBA is probably over. He has one goal left and that is to win that second national title or even more.

How many more years will he give it a shot?

I would say he’s most likely looking at another five seasons.

As much as he loves the college game, I can’t imagine Izzo coaching in East Lansing on the short end of 70. Jud was 67 when he retired and moved to Spokane, Washington where he coached high school from 1950-to-64. Ganakas was 50 when he decided the MSU job was his last.

Izzo will be 60.

Shhhh…don’t tell Lupe because she probably doesn’t believe it.

He begins this 20th rodeo in the red hot “Izzone” with a team given no chance to win it all.

Adreian Payne and Gary Harris are off to the NBA. Keith Appling had his cup of coffee with the Lakers before being released. Kenny Kaminski left MSU after two suspensions.

Branden Dawson and Denzel Valentine are the lone stud holdovers from last season.
The new crop of Spartans includes Forbes and Harris along with frosh Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn, Marvin Clark and Javon Bess.

Travis Trice is a veteran senior guard. Matt Costello is a grizzled junior forward. Gavin Schilling and Alvin Ellis III are last year’s freshmen who need to show what they have starting with the Navy game.

For the first time in a few years, we really don’t know what this State team is going to look like.

Izzo LOVES those kinds of years.

He digs x-factors.

Not that he doesn’t love hype; don’t get me wrong. He digs that too.

When MSU got to number one in the nation for the first time since the 2000 championship, Izzo was rockin. His theory has always been, if they’re going to rank ‘em… he wants to be on top.

This team is FAR from the top.

That’s OK with Iz, he’s cool with that. Let them all take his group for granted and underestimate. Everyone did that in 2005 and all Izzo did was lead that unit to another Final Four.

The ’05 Spartans had no one drafted in the NBA. At least this team has Dawson who is bound to be a high first round pick barring any injury or talent drop off.

As soon as the ball is tipped in Annapolis, Maryland, Izzo passes Heathcote for service at MSU. It won’t get by the emotional Spartan coach. He and Jud speak often and at age 87, Heathcote still has plenty to offer.

Hell, they might even talk just before the game.

I’m sure Jud will remind Tom who is boss and without fail Izzo will say, “You Jud.”

Heathcote will laugh that sly cackle of his and tell Izzo how proud he is and to go out there and “respectfully” rout the Naval Academy.

28 years ago they were BOTH sitting on the bench at old Jenison when David Robinson had his way and Navy beat MSU in OT.

Jud remembers. Tom remembers. It’s what they do. It’s how they are.

It’s also why the last four decades of Michigan State basketball have been so damn interesting.