Dan Hurley was staring down a six-year, $70 million deal to coach the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2024. He looked at that mountain of cash and told the NBA, “Nah, I’m good.” Few coaches could ever relate to turning down that kind of bag for the college game, which is exactly why he found an unlikely ally and friend in Michigan State’s legendary coach, Tom Izzo. Izzo, the seventh-winningest active coach in Division I basketball, has been down that road himself multiple times, and their shared experience has forged a bond that’s now bringing their programs together on the court.
The NBA Temptation and Izzo’s Been There, Done That
This isn’t some casual acquaintance, either. Izzo, who began his coaching career at Michigan State in 1995 while Hurley was still playing at Seton Hall, has a history with those NBA calls. He inherited a Spartans program that hadn’t seen a Final Four since the Magic Johnson days and, just five seasons later, he led them to the 2000 national championship with a roster that included Jason Richardson and Morris Peterson. That very summer, the Atlanta Hawks came calling with their head coaching job, and Izzo turned them down cold. Fast forward over a quarter-century, and the man still gets pro interest; he even said he spoke seriously with Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia about coaching the team. It’s no wonder he and Hurley became good friends talking about these exact decisions. As Izzo put it on the Big Ten Network broadcast, “Danny and I talked a year ago…He’s been a good friend of mine. He had some NBA offers, I went through it a little bit myself, we just talked about it and we just became good friends.”
Old School, New Friends: From Group Chat to Exhibition Games
Hurley might be a newer face in the coaching scene compared to Izzo, but he’s already adopted an “old-school approach” that very much mirrors Izzo’s. How similar are they? These two coaches are apparently in an “old-school coaches” group chat, hanging out virtually with the likes of Thatta Matta and Mick Cronin. They’re also aligned on big issues like player eligibility and transfer portal regulation, which is huge in today’s college landscape. Their friendship isn’t just talk, either. These two brought their programs together for an exhibition game in Connecticut last season, and they did it again Tuesday evening in East Lansing. Izzo still remembers that first matchup: “They buried us out there last year,” he admitted. “It was a 15-point game, but they dominated the game. He said to me after, ‘You’ve got a ways to go.’ At least you can be honest with some coaches.”
Michigan State might have been looking for some payback on home soil Tuesday, and Izzo’s Spartans definitely stepped up their game. Point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. put in a standout effort with 23 points and eight rebounds. But even with their early free-throw struggles, Hurley’s Huskies locked it down when it mattered, salting away a comfortable 78-70 win. UConn took the win, but it felt like more than just a pre-season W. It was another chapter in a wild friendship between two coaches who both walked away from the NBA to keep doing what they love. What’s next for these two old-school legends? You know we’ll be watching.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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