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Still deciding Michigan State coach calls Hawks offer 'mind-boggling'
Posted: Friday May 12, 2000 09:55 PM
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Coach Tom Izzo of NCAA champion Michigan State said Friday night he was still considering taking the Atlanta Hawks coaching job. Izzo said he planned to meet with his players later Friday and would have a decision by Saturday. The Hawks reportedly have offered Izzo a five-year contract worth more than $15 million if he takes the job left vacant by Lenny Wilkens. "I won't lie," Izzo said of the amount offered him. "That was a little mind-boggling to me. That piqued my interest." Michigan State spokesman John Lewandowski has said Izzo, who guided the Spartans to the NCAA championship last season, received permission from school president Peter McPherson to talk with the Hawks. Atlanta has been searching for a new coach since Wilkens resigned under pressure April 24. Izzo returned Friday from a Caribbean vacation. Izzo said he was afraid people were "starting to think I was running and hiding." He said he had a two-hour meeting with the Hawks last Friday. "I'm sitting here right now, not knowing what I'm going to do," Izzo said. Wilkens, the winningest coach in NBA history, resigned after seven seasons with the Hawks. The team missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years and struggled to its worst record (28-54) since moving to Atlanta in 1968. Izzo has a 120-48 record in five seasons as head coach, including three straight Big Ten titles and back-to-back appearances in the Final Four. The 45-year-old coach, who was making about $850,000 a year, recently agreed to a new five-year, rollover contract that would be worth $1.1 million annually, plus bonuses. Izzo has been at Michigan State for 17 years, having worked previously as an assistant for Jud Heathcote. Only one college coach has won an NCAA title and left the next season for the NBA. Larry Brown moved to San Antonio in 1988 after leading Kansas to a national championship. In recent years, college coaches such as Rick Pitino, P.J. Carlesimo and John Calipari have struggled after jumping to the NBA.
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