Izzo and the Portal – Yahoo Sports

On Monday, Robbie posted an article imploring Tom Izzo to adapt to the modern times, particularly as they relate to the transfer portal and offensive philosophy. The discussion it generated is as compelling as the article and Spartan fans seems to be split in regards to how they view Izzo’s use of the portal.

This post won’t necessarily attempt to argue against Robbie’s points. If watching Dusty May and Michigan win it all doesn’t spark some deep evaluation from Izzo then perhaps nothing will.

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But, is there any chance that Izzo’s methods could still work?

What follows is a comparison of Izzo’s overall and tournament success compared to three different coaching groups:

Retired Peers. These are all-time great coaches who have retired and who coached primarily before the “Transfer Portal Era”, which is defined below. This group includes Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Roy Williams (Kansas and North Carolina), Jay Wright (Villanova), and Jim Boeheim (Syracuse).

Active Peers. These are all-time great coaches who are still active and have therefore coached before and during the portal era. This group includes Rick Pitino (currently St. John’s), John Calipari (Arkansas), Bill Self (Kansas), and Dan Hurley (Connecticut).

Newcomers. These are already highly successful coaches who have coached primarily, or entirely, within the portal era. Here we have Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), Jon Scheyer (Duke), and Dusty May (Michigan).

The transfer portal era is defined as the 2021-2022 season and after. In April, 2021 the NCAA allowed student athletes to transfer one time and be eligible to play for their new team immediately without sitting out a year (spending a “year in residence”). Then, in April, 2024, the NCAA went a step further and allowed immediate eligibility regardless of how many times a player transfers.

There’s no question Izzo’s methods have worked in the past. The chart below compares Izzo’s NCAA Tournament Survival Rate to his retired peers. Izzo just…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/izzo-portal-120000718.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-09 12:00:00

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