Tom Izzo nearly left East Lansing for the NBA last summer.
he legendary Spartans head coach said on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Wednesday that he “talked seriously” with the Suns, whose owner, Mat Ishbia, played under him at Michigan State, about their head coach opening.
“I was a lot younger but I have [had] more than a couple of job offers in the NBA and looked at one last year with Phoenix,” Izzo said.
That connection with Ishbia, who was a Spartan for three seasons from 1999 to 2002, including the 1999-2000 national championship team, that had Izzo tempted.
“My former player, Mat Ishbia,” he said. “That was hard. That was a hard thing to turn down because … I kind of wanted to go with him.”
A jump to the NBA for Izzo, 71, would have been a shocker for the basketball world.
He’s been the head coach at Michigan State since 1995-96, making 28 straight NCAA Tournament and eight Final Four appearances.
Izzo would have joined a franchise full of Spartan connections.
Suns general manager Brian Gregory was a former assistant coach under Izzo.
Player development coach Mateen Cleaves formerly starred for Michigan State.
The Suns didn’t stray far from the university with their final choice as head coach.
Jordan Ott, who spent six years as an assistant coach for Izzo, was ultimately hired for the job.
The move has worked out well for the Suns, having gone 42-34 and sitting in seventh place in the Western Conference through Tuesday’s play as one of the most surprising teams in the league.
Izzo’s Spartans were eliminated by UConn during the Sweet 16 on Friday.
After the game, Izzo insisted that he would be coming back next season and wasn’t considering retirement.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
