Tom Izzo Tops Matt Painter, Others to Win All-Decade Coach Honor from Big Ten
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue's Matt Painter was one of the five finalists for the Big Ten's Coach of the Decade Award, but it was Michigan State's Tom Izzo who won the award.
"When you look at the last 10 years for sure, I think the collection of coaches we've got is as good as we've ever had,'' Izzo said Thursday. "It seems like we've got a lot of good teams.
"I'm greatly humbled and appreciative. Not too many guys have been around as long as I have. Matt Painter's done a great job.''
Izzo has coached at Michigan State for 25 years and won a national championship in 2000. This decade, he went to three Final Fours, won four Big Ten titles and eight of his 10 teams won 27 games or more.
No one could touch that.
Painter, who replaced his old boss and coach Gene Keady in 2005, is the only other coach nominated who's been around the entire decade. The other nominees were Wisconsin's Bo Ryan, Ohio State Thad Matta and Michigan's John Beilein.
There's certainly no shame in losing out to Izzo. Painter's numbers are still very impressive this decade. Since 2010, he's won three Big Ten titles and been to the NCAA Tournament eight times. He won 21 games or more eight times in this decade.
The final basketball award — Big Ten Player of the Decade — will be announced on Friday. All of the football awards will be rolled out next week.
Purdue had three players on the All-Decade team. Guard Carsen Edwards was a second-team selection, and big men Caleb Swanigan and JaJuan Johnson were third-team choices.
Big Ten Coach of the Decade
- WINNER: Tom Izzo, Michigan State
- FINALISTS: Matt Painter, Purdue; Bo Ryan, Wisconsin; Thad Matta, Ohio State; John Beilein, Michigan.
Big Ten All-Decade First Team
- Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin
- Trey Burke, Michigan
- Drayman Green, Michigan State
- Denzel Valentine, Michgan State
- Evan Turner, Ohio State.
Big Ten All-Decade Second Team
- Victor Oladipo, Indiana
- Carsen Edwards, Purdue
- Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
- Cassius Winston, Michgan State
- Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
Big Ten All-Decade Third Team
- Yogi Ferrell, Indiana
- JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
- Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
- Aaron Craft, Ohio State
- D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State
- Jordan Morgan, Minnesota
