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Tom Izzo on Michigan State: ‘This is a pretty good place for me right now’

Tom Izzo

Michigan State doesn’t play again until Friday night against Virginia in the Sweet 16 in New York City. However, its head coach was in the news on Tuesday afternoon.

A report surfaced that the Detroit Pistons were eyeing Tom Izzo as its new head coach after firing Maurice Cheeks during what is now a 26-44 season. Izzo was tempted by the NBA in 2010 when the Cleveland Cavaliers made a push to uproot Izzo from East Lansing. Izzo, in his 19th season as the head coach at Michigan State, went on SportsCenter on Tuesday to remind NBA executives that he is still happy as a college coach.

“I’ve always said I’d never say never to anything because you never know what it brings,” Izzo said. “But I got so much more work to do here. I have a great president, a great AD and a football coach that I really get along [with]. So this is a pretty good place for me right now. We’re in a pretty good spot. Program’s in pretty good shape.

“Ain’t broke, so why fix it?”

The Pistons are looking for their fifth head coach since 2008. Since Izzo took over the Michigan State program in 1995, Detroit has been through 10 different head coaches.

Izzo and his Spartans, the No. 4 seed in the East Region, take on top-seeded Virginia on Friday night inside Madison Square Garden. Tip is scheduled for 9:57 p.m.

Follow @terrence_payne