EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State has joined some rare air in college basketball history over the last half-century with coaching longevity and NCAA titles.
Since 1976, the Spartans have had just two coaches and both won a national championship.
Hall of Famer Tom Izzo cut down the nets in 2000 and Jud Heathcote won it all in 1979.
Kentucky, North Carolina and Michigan State are the three programs to have two basketball coaches in a span of at least four decades with each winning a national championship that was not vacated due to violating NCAA rules.
“That means the world to me because I don't think Jud got the credit he deserved,” Izzo said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The Spartans, seeded No. 2 in the South Region, will open the NCAA Tournament against 15th-seeded Bryant on Friday night in Cleveland.
Izzo has become synonymous with March Madness, earning a spot in college basketball's annual showcase 27 straight times in the longest streak by a coach.
He trails just Kansas' record of 28 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, a run that the governing body ended in its record books in 2017 due to sanctions, and is tied with North Carolina's stretch of success from 1975 to 2001.
The 70-year-old Izzo is in his 30th season in charge of a program he began working for as a part-time assistant under Heathcote in 1983.
He has been around long enough to coach a father and son, Jason and Jase Richardson, and to recruit a high school basketball player who has become a coaching peer.
When Izzo broke former Indiana coach Bob Knight's record for Big Ten wins with his 354th conference victory, 54-year-old Purdue coach Matt Painter compared his ability to consistently win while enduring the test of time to Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941 that still stands.
“It's unbelievable,” Painter said.
When Izzo took over a solid program, following Heathcote's retirement, no one would have believed the Spartans would be in a conversation with college basketball bluebloods.
The Tar Heels were led by coaches Frank McGuire (1952-61) and Dean Smith (1961-1997) for 40-plus seasons, winning three NCAA titles while combining to advance to 12 Final Fours.
The Wildcats had Adolph Rupp (1930-72) and Joe B. Hall (1972-85) on the bench for more than a half-century, winning five national titles and playing in a combined nine Final Fours.
Heathcote was hired by Michigan State nearly 50 years ago, winning a national title with Magic Johnson against Larry Bird-led Michigan State, and pushed for the school to give Izzo a shot in 1995.
Izzo proved it was a good move, winning an NCAA championship in 2000 with a team led by Mateen Cleaves. His eight appearances in the Final Four trail the total of just four coaches: Mike Krzyzewski, John Wooden, Smith and Roy Williams.
The old-school coach showed he can still win in the new era this season, winning an 11th Big Ten title to tie the record set in 1940 by Purdue’s Ward “Piggy” Lambert and Knight equaled in 1993.
The Big Ten Coach of the Year for a fourth time, Izzo led a team that started the season unranked and went into the tournament ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25 after winning the conference by three games without a first- or second-team All-Big Ten player.
“I think he has maybe dialed it back a little bit, it's a different era as far as kids, but the passion and the care he has for the players, that's still the same," Cleaves said. “It's such a joy to watch.”
By turning down opportunities to leave the school and lead the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kentucky among other teams in the NBA and college, Izzo has helped the Spartans say they've done what just the Wildcats and Tar Heels have in college basketball history.
“That is really an honor to be in that group with that group of coaches,” Izzo told the AP. “Especially my mentor because without him, I'm not here."
Heathcote created a culture in which former players, including Johnson, wanted to come back to campus. Izzo took it to another level, welcoming professional players such as Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green to return to mentor current Spartans on and off the court in what's called “Grind Week" each summer.
“Grant Hill talks about the culture, and he comes from an unbelievable culture (at Duke),” said former Michigan State and NBA great Steve Smith, who was recruited by Izzo and played for Heathcote. "This is second to none. The guys come back. You don’t have to be asked or emailed to come back.
“It’s just a part of our DNA.”
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Follow Larry Lage at https://apnews.com/author/larry-lage
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