Turned Corner & Smashed Into Tom Izzo Built Wall

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Only three schools have played in every NCAA Tournament since 2000 (excluding the 2019-20 cancelation):

Kansas (1990-present)
Michigan State (1998-present)
Gonzaga (1999-present)

All 3 would've made the tournament in 2020.

I think Gonzaga's run is the most impressive, essentially doing it from a 1- or 2-bid conference.
 


If I was making $10M/yr and overwhelming my opponents with a huge talent advantage...I'd put on a show to make it look like I was earning my money.

I'd be coaching during timeouts...hands cupped around my mouth like I was shouting instructions...arms waving and fingers pointing like I was directing traffic....
 


SelectionSunday said:
Only three schools have played in every NCAA Tournament since 2000 (excluding the 2019-20 cancelation):

Kansas (1990-present)
Michigan State (1998-present)
Gonzaga (1999-present)

All 3 would've made the tournament in 2020.

I think Gonzaga's run is the most impressive, essentially doing it from a 1- or 2-bid conference.
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Tough call on most impressive but agree that it is most likely Gonzaga. All three have become name brands able to attract top talent on a yearly basis. Kansas and MSU have more forgiveness from the # of bids standpoint but they also play in much deeper/more talented conferences.

The early part of Gonzaga's run (before they became a name brand) is probably the most impressive part for sure because they did not have a history of NCAA tournament appearances before the run started having only gone one time prior to 1998-99.
 


EasyThere Pilgrim said:
If I was making $10M/yr and overwhelming my opponents with a huge talent advantage...I'd put on a show to make it look like I was earning my money.

I'd be coaching during timeouts...hands cupped around my mouth like I was shouting instructions...arms waving and fingers pointing like I was directing traffic....
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Problem is...Izzo doesn't have a huge talent advantage. If he did, his team would be concensus #1 in the nation. Izzo is a very good conductor of the orchestra he has assembled. He trains his players very well so that they are fundamentally sound and know how to follow his directions. He is the reason his players are successful as a team. He doesn't have many 1st round draft picks on his team. He has a team that follows his command and executes what they have been trained to do.
If you cannot see the difference between Izzo and Johnson, then you have no clue about basketball and had better stay silent than continue to speak.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Tough call on most impressive but agree that it is most likely Gonzaga. All three have become name brands able to attract top talent on a yearly basis. Kansas and MSU have more forgiveness from the # of bids standpoint but they also play in much deeper/more talented conferences.

The early part of Gonzaga's run (before they became a name brand) is probably the most impressive part for sure because they did not have a history of NCAA tournament appearances before the run started having only gone one time prior to 1998-99.
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MNVCGUY said:
Tough call on most impressive but agree that it is most likely Gonzaga. All three have become name brands able to attract top talent on a yearly basis. Kansas and MSU have more forgiveness from the # of bids standpoint but they also play in much deeper/more talented conferences.

The early part of Gonzaga's run (before they became a name brand) is probably the most impressive part for sure because they did not have a history of NCAA tournament appearances before the run started having only gone one time prior to 1998-99.
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You do realize that Gonzaga has the 3rd. largest basketball recruiting budget in the NCAA. Since no football, all the money goes to basketball.
 

FinnGopher said:
Problem is...Izzo doesn't have a huge talent advantage. If he did, his team would be concensus #1 in the nation. Izzo is a very good conductor of the orchestra he has assembled. He trains his players very well so that they are fundamentally sound and know how to follow his directions. He is the reason his players are successful as a team. He doesn't have many 1st round draft picks on his team. He has a team that follows his command and executes what they have been trained to do.
If you cannot see the difference between Izzo and Johnson, then you have no clue about basketball and had better stay silent than continue to speak.
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He is what a college program dreams to be. He takes quality talent and gets them to play tough as nails basketball. It's what Ben wants to do, but I don't see the same fire and passion towards players to get it done. Izzo is a coach that players want to run through a brick wall for.

30 years at MSU. Just pure consistency.


1. One season under .500 in conference play. (9-11 during the Covid year of 2020-21)
2. 7 Final fours (one every 4 seasons)
3. One championship in year 5. 25 years without winning the title.
4. 23 players drafted to NBA. 3 over every 4 years.
5. 16 first rounders. One every other year. (Best Player probably Zach Randolph) Been 6 years since a first rounder.
 

I’m sure Izzo would love all this ass kissing, but his team doesn’t shoot well enough to get to the sweet sixteen.
 




Otis said:
I’m sure Izzo would love all this ass kissing, but his team doesn’t shoot well enough to get to the sweet sixteen.
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You could be right but they find a way to win and it is tough to bet against them come tournament time.
 

Otis said:
I’m sure Izzo would love all this ass kissing, but his team doesn’t shoot well enough to get to the sweet sixteen.
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That's what I see as well. If they get hot, however.....
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
This will be interesting. Win those? You may be on to something. Lose them both? Fire the bus driver.
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Going into a Saturday night home with Illinois, the optics of 5-7 are just so much better then 3-9 or 4-8. An upset win pulls you a game within .500 with Northwestern coming to town which after an 0-6 start would be incredible, where as you lose next two your 3+9 about to go 3-10 most likely. Big week coming up for this group.
 



UpAndUnder43 said:
No, definitely not. But he also spoke highly of Pitino. Izzo is a fuck, but he isnt dumb. Wouldn't you want your shitty competition to stay shitty?
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I would say with Ben it's a little different. Ben played on the same Washburn traveling team Dominique Sims, Allen Anderson, Troy Bell and Adam Boone when Boones dad was the Washburn coach before going to Minnetonka. Obviously Ben, Sins and Anderson all went to Delasalle and played for Thorson. Anderson is one of Izzos early success stories and he's always had a tight relationship with Thorson and Ben was a top 60-100 type of recruit so I'm sure Izzos at least evaluated him while pursuing Anderson. But you're right people are always nice to you until you start kicking their ass
 

dex8425 said:
Pitino was 3-8 vs Izzo. Boy those teams were a lot better than Ben's.
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If he hadn't blown that 20 point lead in 16-17 and if the ref had called the and one when Malik Smith tied the game in 13-14, really should have been 5-6
 

Strongazzoffer said:
I would say with Ben it's a little different. Ben played on the same Washburn traveling team Dominique Sims, Allen Anderson, Troy Bell and Adam Boone when Boones dad was the Washburn coach before going to Minnetonka. Obviously Ben, Sins and Anderson all went to Delasalle and played for Thorson. Anderson is one of Izzos early success stories and he's always had a tight relationship with Thorson and Ben was a top 60-100 type of recruit so I'm sure Izzos at least evaluated him while pursuing Anderson. But you're right people are always nice to you until you start kicking their ass
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I think Ben is a really good guy. But the issue is that Ben is a loser and has been since high school. He's played on and coached some of the worst Big Ten teams in the last 30 years. He routinely coached for shitty teams. I broke it down one day and he has a career winning percentage that rivals a batting average. Does that matter? No idea. But if he is a great coach, its odd no good coaches ever hired him.

Anyway, I hope they win a few straight and keep it interesting. College basketball is much more fun when your team is good.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
I think Ben is a really good guy. But the issue is that Ben is a loser and has been since high school. He's played on and coached some of the worst Big Ten teams in the last 30 years. He routinely coached for shitty teams. I broke it down one day and he has a career winning percentage that rivals a batting average. Does that matter? No idea. But if he is a great coach, its odd no good coaches ever hired him.

Anyway, I hope they win a few straight and keep it interesting. College basketball is much more fun when your team is good.
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I don't disagree with anything that you said. I was more talking about the Izzos dynamic, there's more of a back story there then with most coaches in the league. Wasn't a fan of the hire either, was hopeful his local connections would help him get some transfers in early to build momentum it didn't and four years later were still stuck in neutral. I would say Ben Jacobson at UNI is a good coach been there awhile, Miles was in his first year at Nebraska and was well thought of at. NDSU and CSU, so I wouldn't say all of his bosses were losers. People were pretty excited when Pitino added him to his original staff, but he's certainly not an elite hoops mind and it's clearly not going well now.
 

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