Former Michigan State basketball PG Tum Tum Nairn earns coaching promotion
It's always cool to see what former Michigan State basketball players are doing after their time in East Lansing is done, especially when it's someone who was as beloved as Tum Tum Nairn.
The former Spartan point guard moved on to the coaching ranks right after spending his four years at Michigan State. He coached as a grad assistant under Tom Izzo and quickly got a head coaching job with his alma mater, Sunrise Christian Academy. Nairn coached there for a year before getting hired by Southern Utah as an assistant coach.
Nairn was at Southern Utah under head coach Todd Simon for a year before making the move to Bowling Green for this past season.
Simon took the head coaching job at Bowling Green and Nairn joined him as an assistant and then on Wednesday, he got a promotion after being in the college coaching ranks for just two seasons.
If you knew where I came from, you’d understand why I’m so grateful to be where I’m at. I don’t always do things right and I’m extremely far from perfect.. I count this an act of the Lord’s kindness. Thank you to my boss for this promotion and his unwavering belief in me! #CNC 🧡 pic.twitter.com/8dOBDYhjJd
— Lourawls Thomas Nairn Jr (@CoachTum11) May 23, 2024
This is a really cool thing to see and it's a well-deserved promotion for Nairn who was always considered one of the best leaders in the Izzo era even though he wasn't a superstar. He was a big reason some of the teams in the 2010s were able to make deep runs and gel on and off the court.
Nairn was one of the former players who fans were hoping would fill that vacant assistant coaching spot in East Lansing but it looks like being associate head coach at Bowling Green was too hard to pass up. The next step for him is obviously head coach.
Who knows, maybe he'll be Michigan State's head coach when Izzo retires.