Michigan State basketball assistant Mark Montgomery accepts Detroit Mercy job

This offseason for Michigan State basketball was always going to see a lot of change. Many thought the changes would be limited to the roster, but now there is another massive change hitting the program.

Assistant coach Mark Montgomery has accepted the open head coaching job at Detroit Mercy. We’ve known for a couple weeks now that he was interested in the position and was a top candidate, but now the news is official and he will be leaving the Michigan State basketball program.

Montgomery is the definition of a Spartan. He began his time in East Lansing as a four-year starter for legendary MSU basketball head coach Jud Heathcote. He also spent two separate stints on Tom Izzo’s staff as an assistant coach. The first came from 2001-2011 where he helped take the team to three Final Fours. He also has spent the last two seasons at Michigan State. In the middle of those two tenures, Montgomery was the head coach at Northern Illinois for 10 seasons and was on the staff at the University of Detroit for half a season.

Now Tom Izzo not only needs to continue recruiting in the transfer portal, but he also needs to find a replacement coach for Montgomery. Izzo likely will have many options at his disposal, but he needs to target a coach with a lot of experience in developing post players. That is something that this team has struggled with in recent years, so it only makes sense to find a coach who can improve that area. An emphasis also needs to be made on a coach who can recruit well, because without that it’s much more difficult to field a good team.

I wish nothing but the best for Montgomery as he heads to Detroit Mercy. He has done so many good things at Michigan State and deserves support from Spartan fans as he takes on this new venture. And who knows, maybe we’ll get to see Detroit Mercy on MSU’s schedule soon.