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Would Draymond Green make a good successor to Tom Izzo?

Originally posted on Spartan Shadows | Last updated 2/21/24

Draymond Green and Tom Izzo both still have some playing/coaching left in the tank but could the former be the latter’s successor?

On Tuesday night, Michigan State basketball lost at home to Iowa – a game in which the Spartans were favored in by 10.5 points. The expectation was that this was the beginning of a run for the Spartans heading into tournament time. Those aspirations ended last night (for now).

Tom Izzo’s output and results have been the center of discourse within the fanbase the last couple of years. It feels like last night was the straw that may have broken the camel’s back. We’re confused by the lineups, the stubbornness to not play certain freshmen, lack of senior leadership, and the refusal to change his wardrobe (suit).

Has the game passed Izzo by?

Last night, Spartan legend Draymond Green was obviously watching Syracuse take on NC State (no idea why) where ‘Cuse’s Chris Bell hit eight straight 3-pointers. After going 8-for-8 in the half, Bell didn’t score another point and finished 8-for-10 from the field when the game was over. Green shared his opinion:

I personally think if I ever coached college bball I’d destroy all these guys! I just watched Chris Bell start 8-8 from 3 in the 1st half, And finish 8-10. They didn’t have him set one back screen but only sat in the corner. Didn’t run a pick and roll with him as the back action

— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) February 21, 2024

This got me thinking: What if Draymond was Tom Izzo’s successor?

Draymond obviously has an elite basketball mind – you don’t have four NBA titles and four NBA All-Star invites without one. But does he have the leadership skills to be the next Michigan State head coach? I decided to make a pros and cons list.

Pros

Spirit of the team and highly motivating
Extremely intelligent basketball player
Full understand of basketball Xs and Os
Tremendously passionate
Got that ‘dawg’ in him
Four-year Spartan who bleeds green and understands the traditions

Cons

Zero coaching experience
Tremendously passionate
Recruiting? (TBD)
Has a podcast
Might pull a Juwan Howard (see Greg Gard incident)

I’m obviously kidding about some of these points but you cannot deny that Draymond Green would inject a spark in this program that we haven’t seen in years.

His passion works against him as much as it works for him. He’d rack up the techs awfully quick.

I have no idea what his recruiting would look like. Basketball is much different than football in the sense that there is no ‘blue-chip ratio’ bucket you must fall into to compete for a national championship. I’m sure he could learn fast.

He’d have to stop his podcast.

We can’t have any of those silly fouls translate to coaching in any way.

That said, a fiery alum with a high basketball IQ… I think… could work?

Also, I will delete this post if Izzo brings the suit back.

Go Green.

This article first appeared on Spartan Shadows and was syndicated with permission.

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