Tom Izzo and Draymond Green have a great relationship. The former player-coach duo has morphed into a friendship following Green’s Michigan State days and the two like to bounce ideas off each other and connect often. Draymond credits Izzo for molding him into the player he is today.
Izzo could probably say the same about becoming a better coach because of Draymond.
That close-knit friendship is often on display as Izzo will attend Draymond’s NBA Playoff games after the season and Green will tune in to as many Michigan State games as he can and he even returns for the annual Grind Week event in East Lansing every fall.
That relationship may have taken a bit of a hit due to Draymond accidentally making Izzo’s road to that elusive second national title even harder in 2026-27.
With the Final Four in Detroit, Izzo is going to do everything in his power to win No. 2 at home, but Draymond may have convinced the best player from a projected top-three team in the country to return for another season despite being a projected lottery pick by some NBA draft experts.
Todd Golden said that Thomas Haugh had a great conversation with Draymond Green that told him what life was like in the NBA - and that the NBA will always be there for him. This perhaps played a part in Tommy’s decision to return to Gainesville.
— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) April 22, 2026
Draymond reportedly had a conversation with Florida’s Thomas Haugh about entering the NBA draft and he told the junior forward that the league will always be there for him.
Gone are the days of college players rushing to play in the league. These guys can get paid more to stick around at the collegiate level, too, and that also had to play a role. The tweet above even said that it “perhaps” played a role in Haugh returning despite breaking out for 17.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game this past season.
Todd Golden and Florida were one of the top teams in the country entering the 2026 NCAA Tournament but they fell short of a second straight Final Four and Haugh clearly feels like he has some unfinished business. Getting that reassurance that returning for another year is not going to turn NBA teams away may have been all Haugh needed to hear from Draymond.
With Haugh’s return, Florida is likely the preseason No. 1 team in the country.
That won’t be an easy team to beat in March. Thanks a lot, Draymond.
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