Tom Izzo reportedly encouraged Jase Richardson to enter the NBA Draft

Being a Hall of Fame head coach isn't east. Outside of building rosters and contending for titles consistently, you have to make some tough decisions regarding your best players.

For Tom Izzo, telling a top player that he should move on to the next level instead of returning for another season (especially as a freshman) has to constitute one of the toughest aspects of his job. He reportedly had to do that with Jase Richardson leading up to his decision to remain in the NBA Draft.

According to a new report, via Richardson himself, he didn't quite see himself being a one-and-done when he came to Michigan State, but after the freshman year he had, Izzo knew it was time for him to go.

The Hall of Famer reportedly told him that he should enter the NBA Draft.

This shatters a lot of narratives from rival fans who believe that Izzo tries to convince players to stay even when they're NBA-ready (the Miles Bridges saga didn't help). But this is yet another case of Izzo seeing an NBA-ready player and letting them know that they should, at the very least, test the draft waters and if they get good feedback, they should go.

Richardson got some good feedback and Izzo knew that what he saw from his freshman guard was enough to earn him a spot on an NBA roster.

While it hurts to see Jase go, especially with how much attrition the team has faced this offseason, he's going to have a healthy NBA career if he continues to grow at the rapid pace he has been.

Richardson is the first one-and-done since Max Christie and the second since Jaren Jackson Jr.