Spartan Nation continues to feverishly follow Twitter this morning as they await a decision from Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo on whether will stay in East Lansing or take a chance at coaching a possible LeBronless Cleveland Cavaliers.  What do I say to that? Relax.   The answer is not coming today, nor will it come tomorrow.  No, I don’t have a source that says that, but I think we can take a break from checking any updates from East Lansing.

Let’s get one thing straight, Izzo is not dragging this out.  It has only been one week since reports surfaced that Cavs owner and Michigan State alum, Dan Gilbert, had serious interest in hiring Tom Izzo.  It has been less than a week since Izzo and his family visited the Cavaliers facilities when Izzo also met with management and Gilbert himself. I don’t think we need to go over how tough of a decision this may be for him.  I know that I had become a little restless over the weekend, and in hindsight, I was wrong.  I also may have fallen prey to the numerous reports that he would make a decision by Friday night, then Saturday, then possibly Sunday, or at least before his camp began on Monday.  Alas, we have no decision from him, and we shouldn’t be surprised.  Guess who the camp counselors are?  Michigan State Spartan basketball players.  You think he is gonna make his decision, hold his camp in East Lansing, and expect the players he could possibly be abandoning to show up and work for free for him?  Come on.  Reporters can stop camping outside the Breslin Center this week; no announcement is coming.

Let’s also stop with the Brett Favre comparisons.  Again, this has been one week, not 5 years.  The only thing that you can compare about them is that a couple weeks before the Cavs job was offered, Izzo made what seemed like a definite statement that he wouldn’t leave Michigan State until he won a 2nd title, similar to how Favre says he is done at the end of each football season. Of course, Favre slowly changes course as his body heals.  Well, Izzo has a great chance to win a second title in 2011 at Michigan State.  However, if LeBron James decides to return to the Cavs, he has a great shot at winning a title in 2011 in Cleveland.   That’s a pretty big dilemma for Izzo to ponder.  Luckily he has his camp to run this week so that he can have a little bit of an escape rather than agonize over his difficult decision.

The big issue that will come into play after this week will be that Michigan State will need to have an answer.   I don’t believe he is really leaving the Cavs hanging at this point.  I still believe that John Calipari is in play for them if Byron Scott doesn’t wait around and takes a different job.  They could just as well go another route and find someone to coach them.  The Cavs are still more concerned about signing LeBron James than anything, and I don’t think having the coach in place July 1st is that big of a deal. Maybe July 15th, but not July 1st.    But Michigan State is a different story.  They need to be concerned about their program. They don’t want players jumping ship, or players with verbals for 2011 to reopen their recruiting.  Coaches like Calipari, Rick Pitino and Thad Matta smell blood right now. If Izzo’s decision is to leave or drags on, they will want to go after some of these guys, like guard Brandon Kearney.  The Athletic Department needs a decision relatively soon.  They need to know what they have to do for the upcoming season and keep the program as stable as possible. Izzo doesn’t owe the school or the AD a return, but at least a somewhat quicker decision.

Dave K

Dave K is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Victory Formation. He can be reached at dkippe@gmail.com

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