Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has long been outspoken about the direction of college basketball, and he has inspired some of his fellow coaches to adopt that same mindset.
Izzo has said that he loves his job, but he’s been disappointed in the direction of his profession, and he’s held that same mindset for years now. The recent trend of G-League players returning to college basketball years later (James Nnaji and Charles Bediako) has really soured Izzo and some other prominent coaches on the direction of the sport.
Over the weekend, one of the best coaches in college basketball spoke out about the current unfortunate trends, and he spoke about Izzo being a mentor of his.
Dan Hurley called out college basketball, and he said that if the sport continues on this trajectory, he’s going to leave it. He also called Izzo the best coach in college basketball and that he leans on him for advice — mind you, this is a two-time national champion head coach.
Dan Hurley states that if College Basketball continues to go in the trajectory it is right now, he’s going to leave the sport as a whole.
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) January 24, 2026
Hurley also called Tom Izzo the best coach in College Basketball & he leans on him to get advice on everything, including what’s going on…
Hurley comes off as fiery head coach who doesn’t hide his emotions very well during games, which can rub people the wrong way, but Izzo is obviously the same way.
It’s cool to hear a coach who has won two national titles over the past three seasons say that Izzo is the best coach in college basketball — because a lot of us agree. Izzo is one more national title away from being in that “greatest of all time” talk, at the very least in the Big Ten.
The direction of college basketball could lose a lot of coaches
Unfortunately, the way college basketball is headed could be an issue for the long-term health of the sport. It could cost college basketball some of its best head coaches.
The NIL and transfer portal era already led to guys like Coach K, Tony Bennett, Jay Wright, and Jim Boeheim retiring from the sport — and Roy Williams, too, left before it got too messy. It has claimed way too many Hall of Famers, and if the NCAA doesn’t fix the eligibility mess, it’s going to claim even more legends like Izzo and Hurley.
Let’s hope things get corrected soon because I think we’d all like to see future March Madness showdowns between Izzo and Hurley.