Michigan State Basketball: 5 potential eventual replacements for Tom Izzo

1. Nate Oats

Talk about an elite career trajectory. Nate Oats was an assistant coach in Division 3 before taking over at Romulus (Mich.) High School as the head coach. When then-Buffalo coach Bobby Hurley was recruiting a Romulus player, he noticed Oats and named him an assistant when he took over as head coach.

Oats was an assistant under Hurley from 2013-15 and then took over as head coach when he left for the Arizona State job. In four seasons with Buffalo, Oats went 96-43 overall and 56-20 in conference play, making the NCAA Tournament three times, winning three MAC Tournament titles and two regular-season crowns. He then accepted the Alabama job in 2019 after a 32-4 season with Buffalo.

At Alabama, Oats has done nothing but put the Crimson Tide on the college basketball map, going 16-15 in his first year and finishing in ninth place in the SEC before going 26-7 with an SEC title and a Sweet 16 berth. His Crimson Tide were an overtime period away from making the Elite Eight and potentially a Final Four but it was clear that he coached Alabama up quickly.

This should be the top “want” for Michigan State fans as head coach when Izzo retires. Why? Oats is just 46 right now and he’s one of the fastest-rising names in the college basketball world.

Oats has won at every level, coached high school basketball in Michigan for 11 years, and can recruit with the best. He’s a budding superstar in the coaching ranks and if Michigan State can somehow pry him away from Tuscaloosa when Izzo retires, that would be a monstrous win.