Lots to read about Coach Heath (Part II + EXAM!)

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HEATH RAISES THE BAR -

FIRST-YEAR KENT STATE COACH FACES CHALLENGES, WINS HIS WAY

Akron Beacon Journal (OH)

March 7, 2002

Author: Terry Pluto

The Kent State men's basketball team has a 24-5 record, 17-1 in the Mid-American Conference, and 12-0 at home, where it averaged a school-record 4,928 fans.

Kent State is favored to win the Mid-American Conference Tournament, which opens today at noon when the Flashes face Marshall at Gund Arena. If the Flashes win, their 25th victory would set another school record. It also will set them on course for their third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years.

But in the middle of December, no one saw this coming. Not when the Flashes were 4-4, having lost to Youngstown State. Not when some of the seniors were pouting about losing their former coach, Gary Waters, to Rutgers, and when they (fans and players) were doubting new coach Stan Heath. No one could have guessed that this team would win 20 of its next 21 games.

Here's the story of the turnaround

The new coach

When Stan Heath was hired, a couple of close friends told him, "You can't win; all you can do is lose."

Why?

"Because if you win, it's because of Gary Waters' players," the coaches told him. "If you lose, it's because you messed it up. It's always better for a young coach starting out to take a program that's down and build it up."

Instead, Heath replaced Waters, the most successful coach in Kent State history. He took over a team that was 24-10 and had upset Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, a team with star guards Trevor Huffman and Andrew Mitchell returning, along with MAC Defensive Player of the Year Demetric Shaw.

Heath had never been a head coach at any level. He was 36 years old, coming to Kent State after five years as an assistant coach to Tom Izzo at Michigan State. Heath had sat the bench as a player for Eastern Michigan in the 1980s, and had been an assistant for two years at Bowling Green.

He knew the MAC. He had worked summer camps with Waters. He knew Kent State could be a make-or-break job for him in creating a future as a major college coach.

"I knew it would be a challenge," he said. "But I never knew how fragile was the line between winning and losing, how things can snowball, both good and bad."

He never expected to start the season at 4-4.

The players

When Waters left Kent State for Rutgers last spring, most of the players went into shock.

"Gary wasn't just their coach; for a lot of the players, he was their father," Kent State athletic director Laing Kennedy said. "He was a calming influence. He brought the right kind of values to the team. They felt lost without him."

While the players endorsed the hiring of Heath to Kennedy, they found that the quiet, peaceful man they met during the on-campus interview had a tough side.

He was obsessive about time, and acted as if the world fell off its axis if someone were five minutes late.

"We used to joke that there was Eastern Standard Time and Gary Waters time," Kennedy said. "Gary didn't worry if someone was a few minutes late, or he'd be late if he had to take care of some player's personal problems."

Heath had other ideas. More than once, he told the players: "Do you think your boss is gonna let you get away with being late when you start working for a living? I'm getting you ready for the real world.

"You don't get there late; you get there early."

Waters was more like a father, a man who quoted the Bible to his players and preferred to encourage and uplift. He seldom raised his voice in practice; a scowl was enough to get the attention of most players.

Waters is 50; Heath is 36.

Part of the reason Kennedy hired Heath is that he saw many of the same qualities Waters had - a family man who had paid his dues as an assistant and had a reputation of knowing where to find players.

Heath found out he was more like a big brother taking over an angry family because Dad had split town. Players bristled when he corrected them.

They were hurt not so much by what Heath did, just that he wasn't Waters.The tactics

At his last team meeting, Waters set this goal for his players: "I want us to go undefeated in the MAC and go to the NCAA Sweet 16," he said.

Heath knew about that meeting. He also knew what it would take to reach that level, having been to three NCAA Final Fours with Izzo at Michigan State. And he didn't think Kent State's approach to the game would take them deep into the NCAA Tournament.

As Waters said Tuesday: "We were not a good rebounding team. We played pressure defense, and sort of rested on offense. Stan had to change some things for us to take the next step."

Waters squeezed the most out of the talent he had, but basketball teams are like snowflakes. Each one has a unique trait. Under Waters, guards Huffman and Mitchell dominated the ball and sort of created their own plays on offense.

Heath put in set plays designed to create more movements, more opportunities for big men inside, especially Antonio Gates, a talented, wide-bodied 6-foot-5 forward.

Then there was rebounding.

Kent State was one of the MAC's worst rebounding teams a season ago. Heath came from a program where rebounding was like breathing. Heath believes in attacking the boards and scoring inside, and he demanded his players do it.

Early on, despite his best selling job, they weren't buying.The stress

Late in December, Heath knew he had a problem. Some of the players were struggling with the offense, and pointing the finger at Heath for the early season losses to Hofstra and Youngstown State.

The players were asking themselves, "We were 24-10 a year ago, why change anything?"

Heath told them, "When I was at Michigan State, we went to three Final Fours in three different ways."

They didn't seem impressed. They were the best senior class in Kent State history, and they did it their way, with a pressing defense and a free-lance, guard-dominated offense.

Heath believed fans were wondering why he tried to fix something that wasn't broken. Heath wasn't sleeping, staying up into the early morning hours, staring at game tapes at his home. His wife, Ramona, found herself praying for her husband.

"We've been married for 11 years, and we dated for four years before that," she said. "We'd been in coaching a long time. But Stan was just real quiet, hard to read. I kept telling him that I believed in him. I know I drove him crazy, asking a million questions sometimes, but I wanted to keep him talking. I wanted him to know he wasn't going through this alone."

After the Youngstown State game, Kennedy met with Heath. The athletic director told his rookie head coach: "I signed you to a five-year contract, and we're in this together for the long haul. This year isn't make-or-break for you."

In his head, Kennedy had mentally prepared a defense of Heath for the boosters. He was assuming the team would battle just to play .500 in the MAC. He was planning to tell people how Heath was placed in an almost impossible situation, and you really couldn't judge Heath until he has a few years to recruit his own players.

"There was a point where I thought we were in for a really miserable year," Kennedy said. "I'm just glad I never had to give that speech."The wife

Ramona and Stan Heath met at Eastern Michigan, where they were both students. He spotted her in a dance class. They learned they had a mutual friend. He says she pursued him, and she says, dream on, he came after me.

He was the dutiful one, always on time, a serious student and a substitute on the basketball team. At first, she thought he was "nice and sweet," but not all that exciting. But he was someone safe to introduce to Mom and Dad.

Soon, "nice" grew on Ramona Webb. Soon, they were planning to be married, and that happened 11 years ago. Now, they have two sons, Joshua (7) and Jordan (9). Most nights, Stan is home by 9 o'clock to put the boys to bed. Then he watches films until 11 p.m.

"We talk from 11 to 1 a.m.," Ramona Heath said. "Sometimes, he doesn't feel like it, but I make him tell me what's on his mind. We are in this together."

Then they pray and go to bed.

The family was part of the reason that Kennedy hired Heath. He wanted the right role models for his players, and he's especially happy that Ramona takes basketball and the players to heart. She is her husband's biggest fan. She is thrilled when senior Eric Thomas cuts her sons' hair. She says Mitchell reminds her of her husband at that age. She talks about the players as if they're her little brothers.

Ramona Heath is also willing to confront fans who say nasty things.

"Stan is too reserved; he'll never say much," she said. "But I'm not afraid to let 'em know what's on my mind."

Kennedy said another reason he hired Heath was that Michigan State's Izzo told him, "During games, I sometimes act like a maniac, and Stan is there in the huddle, keeping everyone cool."

Waters was much the same way, thought Kennedy.The confrontation

But everyone does have a temper, even Stan Heath, as the Kent State players discovered.

Huffman was the star of last year's team; he was used to having the ball in his hands about 80 percent of the time. That changed with the new offense.

Huffman is from Northern Michigan. Kent State was his only Division I offer. He's a 6-foot-1 guard who has a knack of saving his best for the biggest games. But part of him is still that overlooked kid from a small town who needs to be reassured.

Waters knew this.

Heath had to learn it.

When Huffman missed a morning meeting, Heath lashed into him in front of the team. The two went back-and-forth, Huffman wondering why Heath changed the offense, Heath wondering why Huffman was so stuck on doing it his way.

"It was not my best moment," Heath said. "Trevor came to see me later. We talked in private. I told him that I didn't handle it well, and he apologized to me. Then he apologized to the team. I think we really started to communicate after that."

Something else happened. The four seniors got together and realized there was no next year, that they either had to pull together now or regret it the rest of their lives.

Heath asked Rev. Ron Fowler of Akron to speak to the team on the subject of unity. The players knew Fowler, since he was Waters' pastor at the Arlington Church of God. He had talked to them before. Heath also attended the church.

"Pastor Fowler sort of was a bridge between the two coaches," Heath said. "The players respect him. We have a lot of God-fearing kids. They like to get together and pray. They have the right values, and it showed."The healing

Good kids who have won before. Good kids who have already graduated (Mitchell and Thomas) or are on course to do so. Good kids who want to do things the right way.

Heath said those are the reasons Kent State turned its season around in late December. The players gave the new offense a chance. They swarmed the boards. They began to win. And win. And win more than ever before.

And Heath started to bend.

He gave the guards more freedom on offense. Late in the season, he set up a play for Mitchell to handle the ball, but the two guards talked among themselves on the court - and Mitchell told Huffman to take it.

"Early in the season, that would have upset me," Heath said. "But I realize that they know each other's game better than anyone else. My confidence in them just keeps growing."

And as Huffman has often said, "Coach has learned to respect and understand us."The old coach

Miles away in Piscataway, N.J., Waters still pays close attention to his old team. He might end up being named the Big East Coach of the Year as Rutgers finished a surprising 18-11, 8-8 in the conference. It's only Rutgers' second winning season in 10 years.

Waters called all of his old players on Christmas Day, urging them to stick together, to have a great season, to remember what they had accomplished at Kent State and to finish the job in style.

"Stan was in a tough spot," he said. "When I took over, if we lost, it wasn't my fault. We were just rebuilding. When he lost, it was his fault. When the team won, it was because of the players. Stan handled the pressure so well."

And there's more.

His accent on rebounding led Kent State to being the most dominant board team in the MAC. The offense began to create open shots. The Flashes won tough, physical games on the road, just as Heath hoped.

"For me, it's gratifying to see Kent have success and Stan to do well," Waters said. "I told (Laing Kennedy) that he'd never make a mistake if he hired Stan, and he's proved to be the right man for the job."

A JOURNEY SO SWEET -

KENT STATE'S ROOKIE COACH WAS SEASONED AT MSU, ETC.

Detroit Free Press (MI)

March 21, 2002

Author: JO-ANN BARNAS FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

KENT, Ohio -- He told himself it had nothing to do with basketball. There were too many memories, too many good years for that. So, then, why couldn't he pick up the phone? Why couldn't he dial the number?

Stan Heath reached for the receiver but pulled back. Silly, wasn't it? Here he was, celebrating the greatest accomplishment in Kent State men's basketball history -- back-to-back wins in the NCAA tournament, a spot in the Sweet 16 -- and Heath was reluctant to share his joy with the one person who would appreciate it most.

"I wanted to call him, but after they lost I felt so uncomfortable," Heath said. "I wanted to call him and say, 'You had a good year' -- because they did -- but I just felt odd that we were still in it and he wasn't. It (calling) didn't seem right to me."

Heath thought about it for a moment. Not the phone call, everything else. This was just all so amazing, everything that has happened lately.

In his first year as head coach at Kent State, Heath, a native Detroiter and 1988 Eastern Michigan graduate, had just taken his team further in the tournament than Bob Knight at Texas Tech, Jim O'Brien at Ohio State, Bob Huggins at Cincinnati.

And Tom Izzo at Michigan State.

Izzo was the man, the mentor Heath couldn't call.

Before this season, Heath had been Izzo's assistant for five years in East Lansing. And during that time he absorbed Izzo's coaching strategy as the Spartans won four straight Big Ten regular-season titles and made three consecutive Final Four appearances, including winning the 2000 NCAA championship.

But by last weekend, the Spartans were out, and Heath's upstart Golden Flashes -- the Mid-American Conference champions -- not only were still in the NCAA tournament, they were getting stronger with each game.

When they won their 20th straight on Saturday -- defeating Alabama, 71-58, in the second round in Greenville, S.C. -- the victory kept alive the nation's longest active winning streak.

"I know how he is, so unselfish," Heath said of Izzo, getting back to the phone call he couldn't make. "But it just felt so odd to me. I can't explain it."

At 10 a.m. Sunday, Heath's dilemma was solved for him. His phone rang. And when he answered and heard that familiar voice, Heath felt a rush of relief and excitement.

"Congratulations!" Izzo said straight off.

Heath said he had something important to share.

"Tom, we're playing just like we did when we won the championship," he said.

Izzo smiled at the compliment. So unselfish, he thought.

But it was true.

Streaking for 24

The messages are written in chalk on the concrete columns in front of the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, home of Kent State's 6,327-seat basketball arena.

"Let's Make that Game Streak 24," one sign says, referring to Kent State's winning streak and the four games that remain to win its first NCAA championship.

Another sign lists the Golden Flashes' accomplishments, with an unchecked box next to "Pittsburgh," the team Kent State faces tonight in the South Regional semifinals at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. The winner advances to Saturday's regional final to play the winner of tonight's other semifinal between top-ranked Duke and Indiana.

Inside the MAC Center, a group of students receives some bad news at the box office: Kent State's 1,200 ticket allotment to tonight's game sold out in two hours Monday.

"Oh, no! No road trip!" one of them moans.

But take a look around the rest of the building. Smiles are everywhere.

Down a hallway, Kent State athletic director Laing Kennedy is late for a Rotary luncheon; he has been talking hoops for the last half-hour with a local sports columnist.

Around the corner, a row of folding tables holds a shipment of "Sweet Sixteen" T-shirts. More than 400 were sold by Tuesday night's pep rally.

"I'm filling an order for a guy who called from New York," says Mark Lewis, Kent State's general manager of auxiliary services. "This is unbelievable. The best thing that's happened here in a while."

Lewis was in the sixth grade in 1970 when tragedy struck the university. Four Kent State students were shot by National Guardsmen and died during a protest of the Vietnam war.

"I was taken home from school that day in an Army jeep," says Lewis, 40. "No, I'll never forget that day. But look around today; you see everyone smiling. I was teaching a class to incoming freshmen this morning. All of the questions were about basketball."

That's no surprise to the man holding court in the back room of the basketball offices.

For the past five minutes, Heath has been on the phone, pacing back and forth in front of his desk as he answers questions during a live interview on ESPN radio's "Dan Patrick Show."

Just under a year ago, the office was vacated when popular coach Gary Waters left Kent State after five seasons for Rutgers University. When Kennedy called Izzo for permission to interview Heath, Izzo's response practically made Heath the front-runner for the job.

"You have my permission," Izzo said, "and you should hire him."

And now here Heath is, 11 months later, answering questions for a national radio audience on everything from what the Golden Flashes' mascot is ("An eagle with an attitude," Heath says) to why he wears his Michigan State NCAA championship ring ("It reminds me of what it took to get there; it's not for show"), to where Kent State can be located on a map ("We're in northeast Ohio").

On a conference table, two more game tapes have been delivered. Next to them is a manila folder with "Pittsburgh" written on the tab.

At 37, Heath often has been called "the most experienced" rookie head coach in the country. But though his five years at Michigan State were crucial in his development, he says his experience in East Lansing doesn't totally encompass or define his coaching philosophy.

Look closely at all the places he has been an assistant, Heath says, and you will find evidence of the best things from all the coaches for whom he has worked over the years -- coaches such as Mike Turner, Ron Hammye and Jim Larranaga. They were the ones who had hired him as an assistant at Albion College (1989-91), Wayne State (1991-94) and Bowling Green (1994-96).

Want to go deeper than that? Start with his first coach, his father, Stan Heath Jr.

A former firefighter who is semi-retired as manager of a funeral home business, Stan Heath Jr. put a basketball in his son's hands when he asked for it -- not a moment before.

Never pushy but always supportive, Stan Heath Jr. and his wife, Patricia, raised their family on Detroit's west side. The middle child between two daughters, little Stan learned the game at the Boys Club on Livernois and Michigan, where his father coached a youth team.

Known in coaching circles as one of the nicest guys around -- "If anyone has anything negative to say about him, then they don't know Stan," said Hammye, now athletic director at Livonia Franklin -- it should be known that Heath first started out as the nicest kid on the block.

"Never been in trouble," his father said. "I've never heard him use profanity. We never grounded him. Once, I think it was in the seventh grade, his grades went down, just a little, and the teacher said it might be because of some of the kids he was starting to hang around with. So I transferred him into St. Mary's of Redford. Those sisters got a hold of him, and he made the dean's list."

From there, it was on to Detroit Catholic Central. Heath's former high school coach remembers him fondly.

"He was one of the happiest kids I've ever coached," said Bernie Holowicki, head coach at Madonna University after coaching Catholic Central in 1971-1994. "He was lightning quick. He was never late, never missed a practice. He had that inner strength, that quiet confidence about him. He just never got rattled.

"When I was watching his team on TV last weekend, I was thinking that same thing. His players are just like him."

A touch of green and white

Still in his office, but finished with his radio interview, Heath is asked who had called him in the past few days with congratulations.

He begins by listing his Spartan ties, his former coaching colleagues and players at Michigan State. His wife, Ramona, received a few calls at the house, too, including one from Lupe Izzo, Tom's wife. She told Ramona they were going to try to make it to Rupp Arena for tonight's game.

"And Jud left a message on the answering machine," Heath says, laughing, referring to former longtime Spartans coach Jud Heathcote. "He says, 'Hey, half-name' -- that's what he always calls me -- 'good job.' "

Half-name?

"Heath-cote," Heath says. "Get it?"

Make no mistake, Heath is Kent State through and through. But that doesn't mean there's no green-and-white in his blood. Others see it, too.

"I was on the road recruiting and I heard Stan on that 'Mike and the Mad Dog' program out of New York," said Larranaga, now head coach at George Mason University. "It was almost like I was hearing Izzo talking."

It was Larranaga, actually, who played a large role in Heath's first big break, when he was hired as assistant at Michigan State in 1996.

"I remember when I was interviewing for assistants (in 1994) at Bowling Green," Larranaga said. "One of the things I always ask is what their goals are, their dream job. Normally, the answer I hear is, 'To be a head coach at the Division I level.' Stan's answer was, 'I want to be an assistant coach at Michigan State.'

"It blew away my mind."

So when an assistant's job opened in East Lansing, Larranaga offered Heath, his assistant, some help.

"He was really behind me," Heath said. "Jim said, 'There's going to be a million guys applying for that job. You want to do something unique.' "

This was what Larranaga suggested: 1. Go to a department store. 2. Ask a manager for the right arm of a mannequin. 3. Send it to Izzo.

"Great idea!" Heath said.

A couple of days later, Izzo was at his office when a Federal Express package arrived. He opened the box and removed the crumpled newspapers. There it was: a right arm.

"Do I remember it? I'll never forget it," Izzo said this week. "I said, 'What the hell is going on?' "

Izzo read the attached note: "I'd give my right arm to be an assistant for you. Stan Heath." Five years later, now here was Izzo determined to help Heath get the job at Kent State.

"I look at him as being like myself," Izzo said. "Someone who worked his way up, driving for miles to see recruits, not flying here and there, appreciating the hard work it takes to get here.

"He's a family guy, and that's important to me. He's very honest, doesn't cheat, and is very loyal. He treats people fairly. I've watched him grow and become more assertive and more driven. That's why when this (Kent State) job came up, I knew he was more than ready for it."

A bumpy transition

But once he arrived at Kent State, with a five-year contract worth $120,000 a year, not including bonuses, Heath realized the transition was going to be harder than he thought. Waters wasn't just liked by his team; he was beloved. Last year, the Golden Flashes finished 24-10, won the school's first MAC East Division championship, captured the league tournament and defeated Indiana in the first round of the NCAA tournament before losing to Cincinnati.

Kent State was also returning three starters and seven letter-winners, including senior co-captain Trevor Huffman, a guard from Petoskey who this season broke Kent State's all-time scoring record.

With half of the team's 16 players from Michigan, Heath had hoped to bond with them from the start. He was wrong.

"Gary is one of these guys who has a clear vision of how to build a program -- not just how to win games," Heath said. "They believed in him, and rightly so."

After a rocky start, the fans were turning on Heath. His players questioned his strategy, too.

"I was there against Youngstown, when he let a 16-point lead get away and we lost," said Kennedy, the Kent State AD. "I came in that Sunday and went to see him. I said, 'I want you to know that your stock as a head coach won't rise and fall on this game. It won't rise and fall on this season. We made a five-year commitment to you, you made a five-year commitment to us. We're sticking together.' "

That was Dec. 16, when the Golden Flashes were 4-3. After losing their next game, at Xavier, they went on a torrid pace, winning 25 of their next 27 games.

Three players -- Huffman, guard Andrew Mitchell (Detroit East Catholic) and forward Antonio Gates (Detroit Central) -- were named to the All-MAC team. Heath was named coach of the year.

"He's a special person," Gates said. "Because he has been there before, because he knows of that NCAA pressure, he tells us what's going to happen ahead of time. He just remains so calm, so that's how we play."

Heath said: "We're playing for ourselves and the university, but we're holding the candle for the MAC, too. Our league is really good. Ball State beat Kansas and UCLA earlier in the year; Bowling Green beat Ole Miss. When they said we don't schedule hard enough, I've found that the problem is I can't get anybody to come to Kent State to play us."

Kent State first-year assistant Oronde Taliaferro, who has deep high school coaching ties to Detroit (he coached Central to the 1998 Class A state championship), smiles when asked about all the Michigan State comparisons. Especially when asked about the pregame routine that is organized to the minute.

"Two managers keep a watch," Taliaferro said. "The players have to be in the locker room exactly 50 minutes before game time. Then there are things that happen at 43 minutes, 30 minutes, 11 minutes, four minutes.

"But it's not about being uptight or tense. It's about being focused and driven. They're winning Stan's way now."

In eight hours the team will depart for Lexington. But Heath wants to leave you one thing. He says it's about his Michigan State experience, what it has meant to Kent State this season, in the simplest form. He has an anecdote.

"You're driving in a van with a bunch of guys," Heath says. "But it's a road that you've been on before. The two-hour drive is easier if you know how to get there, as opposed to constantly looking at a map. That means you're not sure and you're saying, 'Do I turn here?' So I guess what I'm saying is that it helps to know the path. It means you will have a lot less bumps."

Izzo makes MSU cradle of coaches -

Mentor transforms assistants into bosses

Detroit News, The (MI)

July 6, 2004

Author: The Detroit News

Terry Foster

They were a couple of buddies hanging out for the day.

Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo picked up his pal, Marquette Coach Tom Crean, at the airport and they drove to the Pistons' practice facility in Auburn Hills.

They attended a Pistons practice the day before the team left for Los Angeles and the NBA Finals.

The two former roommates are respected college coaches. Each has taken a school to the Final Four.

But during this seven-hour refresher course, they turned into wide-eyed pupils.

Crean and Izzo watched practice, sat in on a meeting led by Larry Brown, and listened intently as the Pistons' coaching staff devised a game plan to attack Shaquille O'Neal.

Laughter filled the air when they were back on the road. They had shared another lifetime memory. Just as important, they had left with more knowledge.

A few weeks later, Crean chuckled at his buddy's thirst for knowledge.

"Tom is one of those guys who continues to have questions," Crean said. "He says, 'I am going to continue to learn.' No matter how successful you are, you never stop trying to find enthusiasm to make you better and the program better."

Izzo pushes every waking hour. He pushed his team to six Big Ten titles, a 2000 national championship and three Final Four appearances. He pushes himself and his assistants to squeeze every ounce of talent out of players.

He also pushes those same assistant coaches into head-coaching jobs, in part by demanding that they never stop learning.

Five former Izzo assistants now run their own programs.

Crean, who recently decided not to pursue the Ohio State coaching job, will return to Marquette for his sixth season. He led the Golden Eagles to the Final Four two seasons ago.

Stan Heath recently received a one-year contract extension at Arkansas. After Heath left MSU, he took Kent State to the Elite Eight.

Stan Joplin has turned Toledo into a competitive program.

Brian Gregory finished 24-9 in his first season at Dayton.

Mike Garland has accepted the tough task of getting Cleveland State back on the basketball map.

Izzo also helped former player Daimon Beathea land an assistant's job with the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He has said former players Antonio Smith and Mateen Cleaves would make excellent assistant coaches, and he predicted that former MSU point guard Eric Snow (Philadelphia 76ers) eventually will become an NBA head coach.

His current assistants could be on their way, too.

Associate head coach Doug Wojcik turned down jobs at Navy and Baylor and has had several other interviews. Izzo predicts assistants Dwayne Stephens and Mark Montgomery will receive feelers soon.

So, is Michigan State the new cradle of coaches?

"The area that makes Coach Izzo different is he thinks part of his job is to prepare assistants to become head coaches," Gregory said.

It is the reason Wojcik turned down a similar offer with UCLA. He figured coaching under Izzo gave him a better shot at a head-coaching job.

"Tom Izzo is the most unselfish guy I know," Wojcik said. "He is not saying I cannot lose this guy or I cannot lose this guy because it will hurt the program. He is pushing guys out the door when they are ready."

Groomed for success

Izzo is very fortunate. He earns seven figures a year and can remain at Michigan State as long as he wants. The only reason he might leave is to accept one of those lucrative NBA invitations that seem to come his way every other year.

But he is not in this business simply to allow others to make him look good. Izzo wants to win but is also looking for ways to make players more attractive to the NBA and his coaches attractive to other college programs.

When Marquette showed interest in Crean, Izzo invited officials to attend Michigan State practices and film sessions so they could see firsthand what Crean did. When Baylor called about Wojcik, Izzo insisted that he listen even though he was not interested in the job.

"If people take ownership in something, you have a better chance to be successful," Izzo said. "If players think they are simply doing something for you or the school they will do it, but it is not ownership. I take the same approach with coaches. You cannot ask a guy to work 18 hours a day if it just benefits you. I believe if they trust in themselves and have ownership, they feel better about themselves and they do a better job."

They also get other job offers.

Two of the shining examples are Crean and Heath. Crean turned Marquette into a power in Conference USA, and his name is mentioned whenever high-profile jobs open.

Heath took Kent State (30-6) to the NCAA Elite Eight in his first season, and its 30 victories were the most in the school's history and third-most by a first-year coach in Division I history. He was quickly gobbled up by Arkansas after Nolan Richardson was fired.

"After my third year (at MSU) and we went to the Final Four, (Izzo) pulled me aside and said, 'You have to think like a head coach,' " Heath said. 'You are going to be in a position to be a head coach and I want to make sure you are ready.' "

Izzo's meetings with his staff are legendary. They sometimes last four or five hours. Beyond X's and O's, Izzo talks with his assistants about recruiting, scheduling, dealing with the media and budgeting ? aspects they'll need to master if they become head coaches. It's Izzo's way of dropping seeds of knowledge to prepare them for the next jump.

It's a hands-on teaching tool.

He refuses to send assistants on the road for extended time. Izzo wants them at practice honing their teaching skills.

Gregory did everything from mopping floors to cleaning out the lockers. He eventually was named associate head coach and was in charge of recruiting.

"I paid my dues," he said, laughing. "I was fortunate to coach with Tom Izzo. He involved me in everything from budget matters to scheduling, recruiting players and development. You are never ready to be a head coach for the first time, but some guys are better prepared and I felt I was very prepared."

Lending an ear

The telephone in the Izzo household is likely to ring at any hour.

It could be Heath worried about taking over for a popular coach. It could be Garland wondering how to work with troubled players.

Crises arise all the time for head coaches.

When Heath coached under Izzo, he often became alarmed when Izzo reacted angrily to an official's call or a player's mistake. He would go over to Izzo and tell him to calm down and relax.

A panicked Heath called Izzo late one night shortly after taking the Kent State job. There were players trying to undermine his authority. He needed advice from his mentor.

"You know what I told him," Izzo said with a big chuckle. "I told him, 'Don't do anything. Relax. Everything will work out.' "

"Yeah, he kind of flipped the script on me," Heath said.

"It was challenging. When you move 6 inches over on that bench, it is different. The media is on you. You have to handle the outward things better."

Sometimes the move to the hot seat is an eye-opener. When Izzo gets out of the game, he wants to sit back and watch his guys win national and conference titles.

He would not mind being known as the godfather of coaches.

"It has been a nice fraternity I started," Izzo said.

Izzo's disciples

A look at the college head coaches who have served as assistants at Michigan State under Tom Izzo:

Tom Crean, Marquette

Age: 38

College: Central Michigan

Record: 102-53

Post-MSU: He revived one of the storied basketball programs in the nation. In 2003, Marquette advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1977. He won the Ray Meyer Conference USA Coach of the Year twice and was a finalist for Naismith National Coach of the Year in 2003.

At MSU: He was on Jud Heathcote's staff from 1989-90 and left to become an assistant at Pittsburgh and associate head coach at Western Kentucky. He returned for four seasons and became recruiting coordinator and associate head coach his final two seasons. MSU was 88-41 and advanced to the 1999 Final Four.

Mike Garland, Cleveland State

Age: 48

College: Northern Michigan

Record: 4-25

Post-MSU: He took over the Cleveland State program after legendary coach Rollie Massimino retired. He was challenged as a coach and was forced to suspend players as he implemented his system on a struggling program.

At MSU: Spent seven seasons with the Spartans (173-72) and was part of four Big Ten titles, six straight NCAA Tournament appearances, two conference tournament titles and the 2000 NCAA championship.

Brian Gregory, Dayton

Age: 38

College: Oakland University

Record: 24-9

Post-MSU: He replaced Oliver Purnell, who took the Clemson job. Under Gregory, the Flyers won the West Division of the Atlantic 10 Conference and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. They also won the Maui Invitational.

At MSU: He was the associate head coach before moving to Dayton and helped the Spartans to two Final Fours and the 2000 title. He coached under Heathcote, left for jobs at Toledo and Northwestern, and returned to coach under Izzo. The 2002-03 Sporting News College Basketball Yearbook listed him as "the No. 1 assistant on the rise," and Athlon named him one of the top 10 assistants in the nation.

Stan Heath, Arkansas

Age: 39

College: Eastern Michigan

Record: 51-41

Post-MSU: His Kent State team surprised the nation in 2001-02 by going 30-6 and advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. He was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, and his 30 victories were the third-most by a first-year coach in Division I history.

Arkansas hired him that spring to replace embittered legend Nolan Richardson. Heath finished 9-19 and 12-16 in his first two seasons with a young team, but he was recently rewarded with a one-year contract extension.

At MSU: Spent five seasons under Izzo and the Spartans (132-37), who advanced to the Final Four three times, winning the 2000 NCAA Tournament. In 2001, Sports Illustrated named him one of the top five coaches waiting to be a head coach.

Stan Joplin, Toledo

Age: 46

Record: 117-88

College: Toledo

Post-MSU: He returned to his alma mater, where his team went 82-27 while he was a player. Joplin needs 11 victories to move into third place on the school's career victories list, and the 22 victories in the 2000-01 season were the most since 1979-80. He took that team to the NIT, the school's first postseason appearance in 20 years.

Joplin also returned to East Lansing and beat Michigan State at the Breslin Center.

At MSU: Coached there from 1990-96 and helped MSU to four NCAA tournaments and an NIT. He worked closely with players Jamie Feick, Anthony Miller, Mike Peplowski, Morris Peterson, Steve Smith and Eric Snow.

He is credited with making Shawn Respert a better player because Respert followed Joplin's philosophy on taking care of your body.

Terry Foster

 Caption:

TOM CREAN Head coach at: Marquette Record: 102-53 Seasons at MSU: 1989-90, 1995-99

STAN HEATH Head coach at: Arkansas Record: 51-41 Seasons at MSU: 1996-2001

BRIAN GREGORY Head coach at: Dayton Record: 24-9 Seasons at MSU: 1990-96, 1999-2003

STAN JOPLIN Head coach at: Toledo Record: 117-88 Seasons at MSU: 1990-96

Arkansas puts faith in Heath as coach

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)

December 7, 2004

Author: GRAHAM WATSON

Of the Post-Dispatch

Arkansas basketball coach Stan Heath has compiled an impressive résumé for a man who has yet to turn 40.

As one of the most successful up-and-coming coaches in the country, Heath has won everywhere he's coached. He went to three Final Fours as an assistant coach at Michigan State and took an unlikely mid-major underdog -- Kent State -- to the Elite Eight.

Now in his third season at Arkansas, Heath is ready to bring that program back to life as well. The Razorbacks are 5-1, losing only to Illinois, which is ranked No. 1 in this week's Associated Press poll.

The Razorbacks play Missouri tonight at Mizzou Arena in the first game between the teams since 1997. That year, Arkansas defeated Mizzou 75-46. Heath's team should be just as difficult to overcome.

Arkansas is averaging 77.8 points a game and shooting 48.4 percent from the field. The Tigers, who have been up and down this season, are averaging 66.2 points and shooting 39.7 percent.

Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles hired Heath in 2002 after firing famed coach Nolan Richardson, the only coach to lead the Razorbacks to an NCAA title. But relations between Richardson and the athletic department had begun to deteriorate.

Before Arkansas, Heath coached Kent State for one season, posting a 30-6 record and an Elite Eight berth -- the first for a Mid-American Conference school since 1964. Though it was only one season, Heath became a coveted coach.

"Going 30-6, winning 21 straight games and going to the Elite Eight generated a lot of interest from a lot of people," Heath said. "It really wasn't a surprise that Arkansas called. Because our team had done so well, it really benefited me personally."

But the success Heath found at Kent State was harder to come by at Arkansas. Heath said at Kent he inherited a program with proven talent, and at Arkansas that talent needed a little refining and reworking. The Arkansas program was still in shock over the loss of Richardson, a 17-season veteran, and was slowly making a descent into the cellar of the Southeastern Conference. In his first two seasons at Arkansas, Heath's teams went 21-35, and last season the Razorbacks won only four games in SEC play.

"When I took over at Arkansas, we had a massive rebuilding process that we had to go through," Heath said. "We really had to start from ground one. We're now at the point where we have enough talent to compete with anybody. ... The two years were really a chance to lay some footprints down."

Despite the sub-.500 record, the athletic department gave Heath an additional year on his contract in April, tying him to the Razorbacks through the 2008-09 season.

The extension was a result of Broyles' confidence in Heath's ability to recruit. Arkansas' tradition and Heath's postseason experience helped him recruit a consensus top 10 class for this season. Two of those freshmen, center Steven Hill and guard Charles Thomas, are starters, and Thomas is third on the team in scoring.

"Arkansas is attractive because it has a terrific tradition and history behind it," Heath said. "That's a very strong selling point that we use. Also, I coached a lot of great players that have played in the NBA. I think when you put the combination of those things together that really helped us in the recruiting process."