Michigan State Basketball: Top-3 Big Ten Assistant Coaches
Two Michigan State basketball assistant coaches have been named some of the best in the Big Ten thanks to a poll ran by Stadium's Basketball Insider, Jeff Goodman.
Goodman said, "For each conference, I polled at least 20 coaches (primarily assistants) and asked for them to name the top assistant coaches in their respective league."
In response, Dwayne Stephens was ranked as the No. 1 assistant in the Big Ten, whereas Dane Fife was third.
When asked about coach Stephens, Izzo predicted he would be a head coach somewhere down the line.
“DJ has the unique ability to fit in with everyone. He has great people skills, but in all honesty, he is under-appreciated as a ‘basketball mind.’ He is very good being my right-hand man on the bench in game situations. Will be an excellent head coach someday soon.”
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) July 14, 2020
-Coach Izzo pic.twitter.com/WPbp28nAQM
"DJ has the unique ability to fit in with everyone. He has great people skills, but in all honesty, he is underappreciated as a 'basketball mind.' He is very good being my right-hand man on the bench in game situations," said Tom Izzo. Will be an excellent head coach someday soon."
Stephens is in his seventh season as associate head coach and his 16th as an assistant at Michigan State.
Fife has been a Spartan for eight years now and was named associate head coach before the 2018-19 season began after serving on the staff as an assistant for seven years.
"Dane is a guy I've known since he was in high school, and I was excited when we had the chance to bring him here, and that hasn't changed in nearly 10 years," Izzo said. "He's a terrific coach, a great recruiter, and knows the game. He has had a great impact on our success, and I appreciate the commitment he's made."
𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦.
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) July 14, 2020
Associate head coaches @DjStephens31 and @CoachDaneFife were ranked first and third, respectively, by their #B1G coaching counterparts as the best assistant coaches in the league 🏀 pic.twitter.com/LRMZVlH8C4
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