Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Izzo to the Bulls

The hot rumor of the morning is that Tom Izzo is very interested in taking the vacant Chicago Bulls coaching position. As a Michigan State fan, I think he has to take this opportunity. Not only has Izzo shown he is one of the best ever at the college level, but he is at an age and experience level that this may be his best chance to be successful at the next level, something he has admitted to thinking about before. He has turned MSU into a perennial power in college, and its hard to imagine him being unsuccessful at the pro level thanks to his unique combination of intensity, relatability with players and also innovation. Another intriguing option about the Chicago job is that it is a roster full of players who have played at premier college programs. Give Izzo a team with players such as Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and whoever they draft this year and i think he could do a great job restoring the team to playoff contention.

It would hurt MSU greatly if Izzo left, but everything points to this being a good move for him. He would still be close to Michigan, in a familiar region where the Bulls fan base would be familiar with his work. If he somehow wasnt successful at the pro level, there would be about 350 college teams that would break the bank to have him come back and coach at their school. If this is truly a dream that Izzo wants to chase, this would be the perfect chance for him to take.

4 comments:

Andrew Adamson said...

That would be crazy if he left, considering he's turned down jobs with the Association before. Who would take over at MSU? I bet Crean would be kicking himself for taking the IU job now that the place he was an assistant at could possibly have a Head Coaching vacancy.

Unknown said...

haha yeah sucks for Crean. I can understand Izzo passing up the dysfunctional late-90's Hawks for this job. I also heard that John Calipari expressed interest in this opening but was basically told "No way."

I won't mind seeing Izzo leave the Big 10 though..

BK said...

I read that about Calipari as well and think its hilarious. Good point too about the late-90s Hawks teams. I think the Raptors was another team he turned down.

As a Bulls fan, I'm not sure how I feel about this. Izzo is my favorite college basketball coach and is in the top 5 college coaches. However, it was a disaster the last time the Bulls hired a college coach.. although that team was absolutely awful anyway.

If they hire a college coach, I'd definitely want Izzo. I'm just not sure hiring a college coach is the right thing to do.

BK said...

in other NBA new, has anyone else seen the rumors that Dwayne Wade is dating Star Jones? hahahaha