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 Wednesday, May 31
Izzo won't leave Michigan State
 
 ESPN.com news services

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Tom Izzo, who led Michigan State to the NCAA basketball title, said Saturday he has turned down a lucrative offer to coach the Atlanta Hawks and will return to the Spartans, as ESPN's David Aldridge reported earlier.

Tom Izzo and Mateen Cleaves
Mateen Cleaves, left, is NBA-bound. Spartans' coach Tom Izzo said Saturday he won't be joining his star point guard.

"I wish some of you could understand that sometimes we have to make tough decisions and sometimes they're not in the best interest of everybody," Izzo said. "I do feel that I am giving up a great financial opportunity and a great dream to coach in the NBA, but it's not for nothing." Published reports said the Hawks offered Izzo a five-year contract worth more than $15 million if he took the job left vacant by Lenny Wilkens.

Izzo, who last month guided the Spartans to the NCAA championship, spent Thursday with Hawks general manager Pete Babcock and Hawks president Stan Kasten.

Babcock confirmed Saturday that he offered the head coaching job to Izzo, but he would not discuss any potential signing bonus or further details of the offer.

"I'm not going to kid you, Tom was our man. We went through the interview process, and Tom Izzo was a guy we thought was a perfect fit," Babcock said by phone. "We knew it would be a longshot. He's had such great longevity and success at one place. It's hard to uproot that kind of situation."

Babcock said Izzo never accepted the Hawks job. "We talked seriously, but he never changed his mind," Babcock said. "He needed to answer a lot of questions for himself, and he decided this was the best thing for him to do."

"It seemed like a long process to some," Izzo said, "but to me it was just something I had to look into."

Izzo has a 120-48 record in five seasons as head coach, including three straight Big Ten titles and consecutive appearances in the Final Four. The 45-year-old coach, making about $850,000 a year, recently agreed to a new five-year, rollover contract that would be worth $1.1 million annually, plus bonuses.

Izzo has been at Michigan State for 17 years, having worked previously as an assistant for Jud Heathcote.

The Hawks began pursuing Izzo in early April, shortly after the Spartans defeated Florida to win the second NCAA championship in Michigan State history. Babcock met with Izzo at the Desert Classic, a pre-NBA draft camp in Phoenix, but didn't make the coach an offer.

Later, Babcock and Izzo talked again. This time there was an offer: $1.8 million per year. Izzo passed on that. A week ago, however, the Hawks increased the offer to a reported $2.95 million per season. It was all guaranteed, and Izzo now was interested.

"I was flabbergasted," Izzo said after returning to East Lansing on a private jet provided by the Hawks. "I won't lie. That was a little mind-boggling to me. That piqued my interest."

Atlanta has been searching for a new coach since Wilkens resigned under pressure April 24.

Wilkens, the winningest coach in NBA history, spent seven seasons with the Hawks. The team missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years and struggled to its worst record (28-54) since moving to Atlanta in 1968.

Izzo held a brief news conference Friday afternoon where he declared he hadn't made up his mind on the offer and needed more time. Izzo said he consulted with his boyhood friend and San Francisco 49ers coach Steve Mariucci, former Michigan State players Magic Johnson, Scott Skiles and Steve Smith, plus Grand Rapids businessman Peter Secchia.

He also talked with Philadelphia coach Larry Brown, the only other coach to leave a defending NCAA champion for the NBA. Brown moved to San Antonio in 1988 after leading Kansas to a championship.

In recent years, college coaches such as Rick Pitino, P.J. Carlesimo and John Calipari have struggled after jumping to the NBA. "I've kind of been a college guy most of my life," Izzo said.

Izzo held a team meeting Friday night at the home of assistant coach Brian Gregory which was attended by most of the Michigan State players and the coaching staff. "My players were 200 percent supportive of my decision," Izzo said.

"He let everybody say what was on their mind," star guard Mateen Cleaves told the Lansing State Journal for Saturday's editions. "Everybody really, really appreciated him coming back here to discuss the situation." Cleaves, who moves on to the NBA next season, declined to provide details of the meeting.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
 



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