SB Nation Detroit - Tom Izzo: 'I'm Pleased To Say I Am Here For Life At Michigan State'https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48919/detroit-fave.png2010-06-16T13:25:37-04:00http://detroit.sbnation.com/rss/stream/12685352010-06-16T13:25:37-04:002010-06-16T13:25:37-04:00Tom Izzo Didn't Ask For More Money From MSU
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<p>Quite a few people thought that Tom Izzo was showing serious interest in the Cavs job because it was all about the money with him. Whether it resulted in a pay raise by going to the NBA or by increasing his leverage with Michigan State, for some reason that was the belief many people held about Izzo.</p>
<p>I think it was pretty obvious that this was never about the money, especially at Michigan State. Although it's possible Izzo will get a new contract that includes a slight increase in salary after all of this, <a href="http://twitter.com/detnewsMSU/status/16277653423">it won't be because he asked for it</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Izzo didn't ask for a single cent more from MSU or any demands. That's what Mark Hollis told me tonight.</span></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Add this to the list of things (e.g. Izzo did this for the publicity and attention) some people thought about Tom Izzo that were just not even remotely true. You can certainly see why he was upset with the media, because many did their best to give off the impression that he was looking at the Cavs job for reasons that were untrue.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/16/1521160/tom-izzo-salary-michigan-stateSean Yuille2010-06-16T03:33:19-04:002010-06-16T03:33:19-04:00Video: Tom Izzo Vs. Lynn Henning (And The Rest Of The Q&A Session)
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<p>The Big Ten Network has uploaded the part of Tom Izzo's press conference where he took questions from the media for nearly 37 minutes. While many of his answers were very interesting, the main focus of the Q&A session was on when Izzo went toe to toe with Lynn Henning of the Detroit News. The back and forth lasted for 10 or so minutes and touched on a number of topics involving the media and their coverage of this story.</p>
<p>The context of this whole Henning/Izzo thing (it starts at the 13:20 mark of the video at the end of this post) is that Henning had a problem with some comments MSU president Lou Ann K. Simon made about how the media covered this story. Athletic director Mark Hollis reiterated the general theme that the media was careless with how this story was handled, and Henning decided to use Izzo's press conference as a forum to express his displeasure with comments that were, in his view, a "blanket indictment of media."</p>
<p>From there this thing snowballed into what was essentially a debate about the media. First Henning lectured Izzo about how MSU provided such little information throughout this whole process. Izzo then pointed out that Henning had not been around the MSU program very much in recent years and proceeded to call him out for his <a href="http://detnews.com/article/20100614/OPINION03/6140383">awful column</a> about how it was too late for Izzo to return to MSU. Then Izzo discussed his approach to handling the media and why some experiences from this past year have changed how he interacts with reporters and journalists.</p>
<p>It looked like this bizarre episode was about to come to a close, but Henning continued it by once again making himself the story as he jokingly complained about not being invited to a dinner or luncheon Izzo had with local media members. The purpose of the meeting was for Izzo to get feedback from the local media members that cover the MSU basketball program on a daily basis and to get everybody on the same page. For some reason Henning seemed genuinely upset that he was left out, which makes no sense since he is not a beat reporter for MSU basketball.</p>
<p>In general Henning really came off as looking quite idiotic throughout this whole back and forth between he and Izzo. Aside from the fact that Henning hijacked the press conference and inserted himself into the story, his sense of entitlement was quite pathetic. Neither Izzo nor MSU owed Henning information about every detail that was going on with the Cavs job, and the fact that Henning was so upset over everything was quite lame. What's more, if he had such a big problem with how all of this went down, then he should have talked to Izzo privately on his own time, not in the middle of a press conference. The whole thing reeked of Henning wanting attention, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering he wrote such a radical, attention-seeking column the other day.</p>
<p>Anyways, the video can be found below, and as stated earlier, the Henning episode starts at the 13:20 mark.</p>
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https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/16/1520513/tom-izzo-press-conference-lynn-henningSean Yuille2010-06-15T23:31:43-04:002010-06-15T23:31:43-04:00Full Audio Of Tom Izzo's Press Conference Now Available
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<p><a href="http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061510aaa.html">Michigan State's official website</a> has made audio of tonight's press conference available to the public. There are two separate links for the audio:</p>
<p>--<a href="http://cstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesuite.net/michiganstate/061510_SimonandHollis.mp3">Comments from MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon and athletic director Mark Hollis</a></p>
<p>--<a href="http://cstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesuite.net/michiganstate/061510_Izzo.mp3">Tom Izzo's comments</a></p>
<p>The comments from Simon and Hollis last 12 minutes and Izzo's go on for about 49 minutes. If you want to jump right to the start of the whole Lynn Henning thing, it is about 25:30 in and lasts for a good 10 minutes.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/15/1520309/full-audio-of-tom-izzos-pressSean Yuille2010-06-15T22:59:48-04:002010-06-15T22:59:48-04:00Video: Watch The First 13 Minutes Of Tom Izzo's Press Conference
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<p>Video of Tom Izzo's entire press conference, including the back-and-forth session with Detroit News columnist Lynn Henning, is not available just yet, but the first 13 minutes of it have been uploaded by the Big Ten Network. I will keep a lookout for a full-length version of the presser, but for now you can watch the introduction where Izzo simply shared what was on his mind (the video includes everything before the Q&A part where things really got interesting).</p>
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https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/15/1520268/tom-izzo-press-conference-videoSean Yuille2010-06-15T20:37:47-04:002010-06-15T20:37:47-04:00Live-Blogging Tom Izzo's Press Conference
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<p>Tom Izzo's press conference can be seen <a href="http://www.bigtennetwork.com/">here</a>. Below are the running notes from the presser.</p>
<h4>President Lou Anna K. Simon:</h4>
<ul>
<li>"Amusing" that rumors swirled so much and "tweets became facts."</li>
<li>Izzo deserved time to make a decision.</li>
<li>Thankful that so many reached out and gave support to Izzo and his family.</li>
<li>Mark Hollis "generally sealed the deal" and did a great job throughout all of this.</li>
<li>Hollis made this happen.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Athletic director Mark Hollis:</h4>
<ul>
<li>Greatness is expected. This is no time to rest; time to move forward and be the best.</li>
<li>Izzo is more than a basketball coach. He's a role model for everyone in the state of Michigan.</li>
<li>Appreciate all of the support the students, alumni and fans gave.</li>
<li>Thank the basketball team for staying strong throughout all of this.</li>
<li>"Time to become the best."<br>
</li>
<li>"Individuals make headlines; teams win championships."</li>
<li>Izzo did not "seek out" this opportunity.</li>
<li>Not done for personal attention. Evaluated for his family and for their best intentions.</li>
<li>"Public swayed by ridiculous and outrageous rumors."</li>
<li>"Media out of control."</li>
<li>"The race to be first leaves a great deal of pain in its wake."</li>
<li>Both Simon and Hollis called out the media, blogs and Twitter for irresponsible reporting.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Tom Izzo:</h4>
<ul>
<li>"That was a hell of a speech." (Referring to what Hollis had to say)</li>
<li>Entire basketball team and managers came up, shook Izzo's hand, hugged him and stood behind him while he spoke.</li>
<li>"It was a once in a lifetime decision for me. How many more offers do you get? How many more opportunities do you get?"</li>
<li>"For me, I decided this decision would put me here for life or not."</li>
<li>"This was a decision for life."</li>
<li>"What helped me? Amazing couple of things helped me... The number of former players that called me when this broke... gave me their input and said coach you gotta take a look and not feel guilty."</li>
<li>Magic Johnson spoke to Izzo last week and told him to get on a plane and go earn that opportunity that it took 27 years to earn</li>
<li>"The opportunity Michigan State gave me, the fact that these players helped me win a lot of games, got to Final Fours, gave me the opportunities for financial things, the dream of coaching in the NBA, the opportunity to coach one of the greatest players that ever played the game. I felt honored and went down there and I must say this about Dan Gilbert -- one of the classiest guys I've ever met."</li>
<li>Izzo had only met Dan Gilbert twice before this. They weren't friends, and they hadn't talked for more than 20 or so seconds.</li>
<li>Gilbert was going through a difficult time and was worried about what people in Michigan would think.</li>
<li>Proud of Gilbert for the man he is and the Michigan State Spartan he is.</li>
<li>Appreciate all of the e-mails and the letters.</li>
<li>"Dan Gilbert saw me in something that was right for that same goal and mission (winning)."</li>
<li>"I didn't do it, as some said, for publicity."</li>
<li>"I am going to be a lifer and I'm damn proud of it."</li>
<li>"We've built a pretty good basketball program. Mark Dantonio has been very important to me. He is building a very good football program. I am a program guy... I care as much about other people as much as I do myself... The mission that Hollis has decided is to make the Michigan State athletic department one of the best in the country."</li>
<li>"My goal is now to make this the best athletic department in the country, and thank God I have some great friends to help me do that."</li>
<li>"No, I did not talk to LeBron. I talked to enough people in his camp that I felt very comfortable with some of the things I needed to know. I can appreciate the things he's going through as well. I hope he stays at home and everybody wins."</li>
<li>"If you're gonna ask good questions, I'm gonna give you good answers." (Responding to an awful question by Drew Sharp)</li>
<li>"Did I ever get to the point where I said I was going? No, I never got to that point."</li>
<li>Izzo's "a-ha moment" was when <br>
</li>
<li>"I think it's really funny that people would question my loyalty to this place."</li>
<li>Izzo said maybe if he won a national title a few years ago this decision would be different, but "that damn Mike Krzyzewski guy" keeps winning titles, keeping Izzo motivated.</li>
<li>Izzo only had parameters before he went to Cleveland, not a contract offer.</li>
<li>"If I didn't look, I would always wonder."</li>
<li>"This time I looked, and I looked a little more diligently... I had to do my investigative work."</li>
<li>"Somebody from Cleveland said this is a decision that's unprecedented." (New coach, new GM, player like LeBron)</li>
<li>"The opportunity they offered me - I could have gone to the NBA. That's not the same as going, but thank God I work for some people that gave me the opportunity to look."</li>
<li>"The grass is always greener on the other side, and the grass is really greener here."</li>
<li>The media infuriated him by calling recruits and all that, but it only served as more motivation.</li>
<li>Izzo doesn't think the media gave him a fair shot at times to really look at the NBA.</li>
<li>Dan Gilbert was a big reason why he looked hard at this opportunity. Gilbert motivated and excited him and had the same goals and passion.</li>
<li>"I felt something there, I really did. I had talked to some of those people when they drafted Shannon Brown. I had been down there at their facility. I guess that's the main reason - just a unique situation, in the Midwest, that was important... legitimate chance to win an NBA championship and maybe there were other things that intrigued me."</li>
<li>Lynn Henning pushed back about comments President Simon made that were a "blanket statement" about the media. Izzo responds by saying that Henning has not been "up here" covering MSU basketball on a regular basis and then proceeded to call him out for a column Henning wrote about how it was too late for Izzo to come back after everything that happened over the last week. This turned into a debate where Henning was trying to lecture Izzo about not giving up enough information, and Izzo shot back with how "<span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">incessant media reports" got to him, where it was in the news that he went grocery shopping with his daughter.<br></span></span></span>
</li>
<li><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">"If LeBron James had stayed, that doesn't mean I would have been there."</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">LeBron was a big factor, but not the only factor.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Izzo will make it up to the fans that were offended by his interest in another opportunity.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">This whole year has been tough for Lupe (his wife) because her father passed away, but she was "very supportive."</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">"A family in learning all of the things you learn in a tough week like it was... they were awesome."</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">On the administration possibly wanting him to hurry up a decision: "I didn't get one negative word said to me."</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Little hard on the players and the recruits.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">"This week, whether anybody likes it or not, I was afforded the opportunity to maybe coach LeBron James. You know what, if somebody thinks I can do that - there are a lot of recruits out there that are the next LeBron James, and I'm going to be looking for them. I'm gonna coach them in the NCAA. I'm gonna try to do the best job I can to help make them have the opportunity to live their dream like I have had the opportunity to here.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Izzo closed out the press conference by thanking the media for having so much interest in the program.<br></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/15/1520012/tom-izzo-press-conferenceSean Yuille2010-06-15T20:36:32-04:002010-06-15T20:36:32-04:00Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Speaks On Tom Izzo
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<p><a href="http://twitter.com/PDcavsinsider">From The Cleveland Plain Dealer's <span class="fn">Brian Windhorst</span></a><span class="fn">:</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Dan Gilbert: "The entire Cleveland Cavalier organization has nothing but respect and admiration for Coach Izzo and his family." cont...</span></span></span></p>
<p><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Gilbert: "Tom is a special person in so many unique and positive ways. We only wish great things for him and his family in years ahead."</span></span></span></p>
</blockquote>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/15/1520053/cavs-owner-dan-gilbert-tom-izzoSean Yuille2010-06-15T19:36:37-04:002010-06-15T19:36:37-04:00Tom Izzo: 'I'm Pleased To Say I Am Here For Life At Michigan State'
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<p>Michigan State has sent out a <a href="http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061510aaa.html">press release</a> confirming the news that Tom Izzo is staying at the school. Izzo's quotes from the release are below, and you can check out the quotes from MSU athletic director Mark Hollis and MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon <a href="http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061510aaa.html">here</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"It's been an agonizing week as I tried to make a decision about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I apologize for the time the process has taken, but sometimes there are opportunities that come about that must be thoroughly examined. I'm no different than any other successful coach in that I've had multiple inquiries before, but this one was uniquely intriguing. There was a lot of information to gather and consider and some of it wasn't easily obtainable. But when making a life decision, I owed it to myself and my family to do my due diligence. From that I never wavered. And I'm pleased to say I am here for life at Michigan State.</p>
<p>"Throughout the entire process, Dan Gilbert and the entire Cleveland organization has been nothing but class. His professionalism and caring nature for me, my family and Michigan State have been impressive. I wish him nothing but the best in his quest to win a world championship. Just as I decided to stay home, I hope a 6-8, 270-pound forward in Cleveland decides to stay home.</p>
<p>"We have a great team returning next year with incredibly high goals. I've repeatedly said I have greater goals for our program and that remains unchanged. Tops on that list is becoming one of just seven schools with three or more NCAA Championships. I'm also driven to continue to raise the perception of our program to an elite level.</p>
<p>"The entire Michigan State community has been terrific. I'm almost embarrassed by some of the acts of support, but I'm certainly touched. I tried to approach this decision in a rational manner, but my heart was always at MSU.</p>
<p>"My goals are not limited to Spartan basketball. I want to do whatever I can to make our entire athletic department and university better. Most important is helping Mark Dantonio and his football team attain its goal of winning a Big Ten Championship and playing in the Rose Bowl."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Izzo will also speak at a press conference at 8:30. You can watch the presser on the Big Ten Network and continue to check in with SB Nation Detroit for the latest updates on Izzo.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/15/1519966/tom-izzo-staying-michigan-state-quotesSean Yuille2010-06-15T19:27:36-04:002010-06-15T19:27:36-04:00MSU To Hold Press Conference With Tom Izzo At 8:30 PM Tonight
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<p><a href="http://twitter.com/thesnews/status/16262363180">From The State News</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">MSU Sports Information confirms press conference with Izzo, President Simon and AD Hollis for 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Clara Bell Smith center.</span></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The press conference, which is expected to include Izzo's announcement that he is staying, will be <a href="http://twitter.com/BTNElizabeth/status/16262582152">shown live on the Big Ten Network</a>.</p>
https://detroit.sbnation.com/2010/6/15/1519956/msu-to-hold-press-conference-withSean Yuille