espn.com Columnist Commits Sacrilege
Jemele Hill has gone there and calls out Izzo as the best coach in (state of) Michigan history. Better than Sparky, Bowman and Daly. Better than Heathcote, Duffy, and Mason. And better than Yost, Berenson and yes, one Glenn E. "Bo" Schembechler.
Yost was the University of Michigan's first great football coach, the original "Michigan man," winning six national championships. But he started coaching the Wolverines right about the time the Wright Brothers were introducing the world to some kooky invention called an airplane. [ed. old timey = not in consideration.] And not to belittle Berenson's success [ed. but she does], but U of M hockey won seven NCAA championships before he got there. Schembechler was a titan [ed. Wrong, he was a God. In Greek mythology, Zeus gathered the Gods and defeated the Titans. Titan isn't good enough. Plus, Sparta didn't fear much, but it did fear its Gods and they knew Ares didn't always get the best of his Olympic counterparts, especially Athena and certainly not daddy Zeus.], but he was 5-12 in bowl games, including five straight bowl losses from 1975-79. Izzo is 35-11 in the NCAA tournament, and this is his sixth Final Four in 12 years [ed. while winning all of one national championship].She closes by committing this egregious sin...
As even Bo would say, [Izzo's] a true Michigan man.Harumph, I say. Harumph.
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Maybe she's just bringing the real again.
She is a State grad...
but honestly, the MSM has gotten out of control with his run through the tourney this year. sure, making the final four is great but the highest rank team they've beaten is a fourth (!!) ranked maryland team. he could make the final game by beating a 12th seed new mexico state, maryland, 9th seed northern iowa, sixth seed tennessee and a fifth seed butler. thats not exactly the most dominating run...
By what, 13 points total? With a super questionable lane violation going their way, needing a buzzer beater against Maryland, some missed free throws by Tennessee...
Granted, Izzo is an infuriatingly great coach, but they're a pretty bad Final Four team.
She needs to brush up on the definition of Michigan man.
There is no such thing as a Michigan Man in East Lansing.
I would take him here at UM in a new york minute.
They compare Bo's number of national championships to Izzo's number of final four appearances. Caputo did it the other day.
And they love to compare Bo's bowl record vs Izzo's tournament record.
A more fair comparison would to compare Izzo's final four record to Bo's Rose Bowl record or to compare Izzo's final four appearances to Bo's Rose Bowl appearances.
ESPN needs to focua on what it knows best...Hannah Storms hem length.
Uh, why the hell does this fanbase spend so much time whining about other schools, other columnists, other places?
Stop with the emo garbage. I love Michigan football but I'm not so blinded to ignore the fact that Izzo may very well be the best coach in Michigan history. I'm not saying he is, but you can't say he's not.
C'mon people.
I'm going to say he's not. He's definitely top 5, but not better than everyone else.
Ten years in, noone would have said Bo was better than Yost.
When Izzo's all done, he may very well be. It's simply jumping the gun to say anything definitive at this point.
What if he wins a national title next week? That makes it:
Izzo National Championships: 2.
Bo National Championships: 0.
Too early to say he is or isn't.
dammit. I should learn how to read. They have a hard road though, don't put the horse before the cart.
There's always a bias towards the present with these things, and Izzo is an excellent coach.
Yost revolutionized his sport... Izzo, while very successful, has not.
Best in basketball, absolutely?
Better than Bo? Maybe.
Better than Yost? Absolutely not.
Notice that she doesn't mention Yost at all in the interview.
won championships. Izzo just qualified to be there six times.
The question we should be asking...
Why on earth is the OP reading Jemele Hill? There are a few people at ESPN who can write something worth reading... Not many, but a few.
She is not one of them.
...I shouldn't read, WB? After you provide me the list, I'll be sure to check it each time I click on a link to ensure I maintain my purity.
Wow, testy.
I just don't think it's worthwhile reading columns written by idiots. FreeP writers, Jemele Hill, etc.
You're more than entitled to like her, if in fact you do. I just think it's stupid to complain about people like this who you know are going to spout garbage.
Tom Izzo is a great coach, no doubt about it. He gets the most talent and production out of his team each and every year. But comparing him to Bo is like comparing apples to oranges. They coached two different sports, in two different eras. I will always regard Bo as the greatest coach to ever roam the sidelines. He, like Izzo, got the most out of his players each and every season. The one difference I can see, is that Bo's players may have hated him early in there careers at UofM but absolutely loved him later on after there playing days were done. I've never heard one of Izzo's player's say that about him. Then again I don't follow MSU athletics.
RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!
That it's easy to dismiss Yost because it's presentist and really, who reading is going to leap to the defense of Fielding Yost, but well, I did. Damn it, Bo may be my favorite Michigan coach, but he was not the best Michigan coach, the stats don't bear it out.
Now, if you want to make the case that Tom Izzo is the best coach BORN in the state of Michigan, I am willing to listen. But he's not the best coach in the history of the state of Michigan because the operative word is "history". It would be like saying you can't include George Washington or Abraham Lincoln in a discussion of America's greatest presidents because they were president so long ago and the world was a different place.