M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[hack]

And yet keeps talking to the NBA. He's said that he might do it one day. I don't think it'll be some random opening like, say, the next time the Hawks or Bucks or somesuch need a coach, but I wouldn't be surprised if at one point there's a combination of money, city and a particular player that makes it happen.

[hack]

We'll see about that additional talent thing. I don't see it as a slamdunk that he's gonna have more talent than at any time since the Flintstones era just as UM, IU and potentially Illinois are on the rise. That doesn't add up unless the conference starts hoovering up blue-chippers from all over the country. Which could happen and still regional recruiting is a zero-sum game.

[lineygoblue]

Life is about to get tougher for Izzo. Not only is Michigan going to push him for in-state talent, he's got to contend with several other very good coaches within the B1G.

I could see him bailing for like what Hack said. The right NBA team, with the right combination of players, .. and the right money of course. He's not going to want to go to a rebuilding team and build from scratch. He will "Phil Jackson" his way to a good team.

[hack]

Izzo for most of his time at MSU has had two big advantages: Michigan basketball was in its self-imposed fetal position, and MSU had much better facilities. Michigan is now minded to actually compete in basketball, and has brand new facilities. I don't know if they are nicer than what's in EL or not, but surely that gap is much narrower if it still exists. I may be clouded by allegiances, but MSU can only go down from here. I think the only question is to what extent.

[Hannibal]

Izzo is at least a very good coach, but the disappearance of Michigan allowed him to pull in more talent than any of his predecessors. Take 50% of MSU's Midwest blue chippers and send them to Michigan. How many Final Fours does he get to?

[iam416]

He's going to land superstars in the class of 2013 and 2104.

Izzo capitalized on M's downturn, no doubt. But the only way M gets to even footing with Izzo is if they get a very good coach.

You guys can delude yourselves about "little brother" all you want, but that's a heck of a hoops program

[hack]

So's Michigan.

He's taken every little bit of space afforded him and made the most of it, save for the arugment that some of those kids have had underwhelming careers in comparison with expectations. No question about it, Izzo is a top-5 coach in the country and MSU isn't about to crawl into a shell. He may have had enough time to build up a whole lot of momentum that keeps MSU elite for a long time. But, again -- the inherent advantages are no longer there. Can't change that or ignore it. The question is a matter of to what degree.

[The Oracle]

And MSU wth Izzo is going absolutely nowhere. Michigan fans can try and downplay him all they want for getting his program up and running while we were down in the dumps. But oh well, that happened and now it is(and has been) a machine. Not going anywhere. There's too much talent in the midwest for them to not get a lot of the blue chippers.

[Hannibal]

Izzo was only 18-18 in Big Ten play in Steve Fisher's final two years and he didn't even make the NCAA tournament. He is 22-14 the past two seasons. That's a 40-32 record in conference play when Michigan has some degree of competency at head coach.

[hack]

And MSU wth Izzo is going absolutely nowhere. Michigan fans can try and downplay him all they want for getting his program up and running while we were down in the dumps. But oh well, that happened and now it is(and has been) a machine. Not going anywhere. There's too much talent in the midwest for them to not get a lot of the blue chippers.

???

As it happens, we've just been talking about this right here and now. Funny that. Read upthread a little bit, perhaps.

[The Oracle]

I wasn't talking directly to you, as it happens. Not every post has been about that. Read upthread perhaps. I'm not going to quote those handful of posts. For someone who likes to come down on those you fell post condescendingly, you should heed your own advice, perhaps.

[hack]

Convincing.

[entropy]

and don't forget.. UNL now has top 5 facilities in basketball, making it that much tougher for Izzo....


what??? stop laughing...

[The Oracle]

Convincing.

Cool.

[WM Wolverine]

Agree with liney, Izzo's job is going to get tougher but so is everyone else in the B10. Izzo needs some talent fast in the '13 class, Parker would solve that with one scholarship but he looks like a potential 1-and-done... I know Sparty is optimistic about landing him but wondered what others think of their chances???

I don't see a ton of talent on MSU's roster but in basketball that can sometimes be fixed with 1 player or 2. Cliff Alexander seems MSU bound but he's a '14 guy.