To Leave or Not To Leave

To leave or not to leave??? That was the million dollar question that was haunting Tom Izzo for a few days. The agony of waiting for his fans finally came to an end with his press conference last night! Is he leaving or not??? Who is he???

Who is Tom Izzo?? For those of you who do not know him, he is the head coach for the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team in East Lansing, Michigan. He just completed his 15th year directing the Spartans! Tom, 55, is a 4 time National Coach of the Year, won the 2000 National Championship, and has led the Spartans to 6 Final Fours, including the last 2!!!! A very impressive accomplishment indeed for a college basketball coach!!! He is making 3 million a year as head coach of the Spartans! What is the big uproar then?? He was offered 2 times of what he is making by Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who is an alumni of Michigan State!!! He was going to replace the fired Cavaliers coach, Mike Brown!! Can you imagine that? Six million dollars a season for up to 5 years, with perks including the use of one of Gilbert's private jets!!! How neat will that be??? So, you could just imagine the things going in on Izzo's mind and the agony of deciding which way to go!!! That was one sweet and juicy offer that nobody can resist!!! Can you blame him for taking his time to make up his mind??? Of course not!!! This is once in a lifetime offer that people would really think very carefully if it is worth to transfer!!!!!!

What will Izzo gain to move to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers??? Power?? I think he already has that in the NCAA! Prestige?? He has that!!! Money??? He has that! He is already earning 3 million dollars a year!!! But if he move to Cleveland, his salary will be doubled!!! He is going to move up coaching the professionals!!! You are right! That is one, what else??? He can prove to himself and others that he can do it and be successful!!!! That is true! What else?? I cannot think of anything else, can you???

On the other hand, what will he gain if he stays at MSU????? He is under contract with MSU until 2016! That is not a gain! Okay! NBA is different than college football! The NBA players are making millions more than the coaches and they have big heads and big egos, bigger than a watermelon!!! Am I right??? The professional players have different work ethics than the college kids because they are spoiled NBA players and they think that they are superstars!!! Do you think Izzo can handle that??? Maybe, maybe not!!! I think Izzo can handle them. He is fiery, emotional and demanding of his players!!! Oh, oh.... stop!!! I can see from this that he might always have conflicts with the players! If he is headstrong like the NBA players are, there will always be a collision!!! Don't you all think so????

Well, well, well.. Did he choose his heart or his head?? Fortune or loyalty??? Kids or men???? There was sooo much outpouring of support for Tom Izzo on the Michigan State's campus that probably helped him decide!!! There were banners all over town!!!! So, tell us, what did he choose???

Okay, here goes.... sound the drums, please.....bam! bam! bam! Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Izzo chose to stay at MSU!!! The MSU fans and alumni must be realy grinning from ear to ear, much to the chagrin of the University of Michigan Blue fans, their #1 competitor!!! Sorry, Blue, Tom Izzo is here to stay!!! You cannot get rid of him that quick!!! Good decision, Tom. I wonder though if MSU gave him a raise???? Hmmmmm....Does anybody care to comment????

Well, there goes another chapter of Tom Izzo's life!!! I think that he made the right choice considering that he is going to coach LeBron James. Did LeBron have anything to do with the firing of the Cleveland Cavaliers coach??? Why? He was going to be a free agent come July 1st. Did they listen to him??? Oh..oh.. do not assume anything!!!! Tell me basketball fans, what really happened????? Enough of the Cavaliers!

Let us all wish Tom Izzo continuous success on all his endeavors, especially as coach of the one and only Spartans!!!! Way to go, Tom!!!!! Go Green!!!!!!
Posted by vs at 6/16/2010 8:43 AM Add Comment