EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Tom Izzo has turned down a number of alternatives to teach in the NBA, together with with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks.
When the Los Angeles Lakers had been prepared to present UConn coach Dan Hurley a $70 million, six-year contract in 2024, Hurley requested Izzo for advice.
“I told him to seriously look at it because I could see where college basketball was going,” Izzo advised The Associated Press on Monday. “But I said, I would hate to lose him because I think he’s all that is right about college basketball. He cares about the kids. He cares about the game. He has to care about the game because of his dad.”
Bob Hurley Sr. gained greater than two dozen state championships at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, creating dozens of Division I faculty gamers.
Izzo and third-seeded Michigan State will face Hurley and the second-seeded Huskies in Washington on Friday night time in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
The 53-year-old Hurley, who’s in his eighth season at UConn, gained consecutive nationwide championships in 2023-24. He is 17-5 in the NCAA Tournament, successful 77.3% of video games to rank No. 1 amongst energetic coaches and fourth all time amongst coaches with at the very least 15 video games.
The 71-year-old Izzo has earned a document 28 consecutive bids to March Madness and gained an NCAA title in 2000 — the final by a Big Ten crew — in certainly one of his eight Final Four appearances throughout his Hall of Fame profession.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
