Further proof Tom Izzo is one of the good guys in college basketball

In an era where it seems like nearly every program is in hot water about paying recruits, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo has become a true icon for those who believe in the purity of college sports.

The college basketball season is over, but it doesn’t mean hoops is out of the headlines. On the contrary, the sport is under intense scrutiny due to the ongoing federal bribery trial, with star witness Christian Dawkins airing a lot of college basketball’s dirty laundry during a trial this week.

While schools like Arizona, Kansas, and Louisville have drawn heat for their off the books payments to players, one guy who drew a rare compliment from Dawkins was Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. According to Adam Zagoria, Dawkins testified in court today that he tried to steer forward Brian Bowen to Michigan State a few years ago only to have Izzo refuse to pay him to get Bowen into the program.

For those unfamiliar with the saga of Bowen, he was a top-100 recruit who was accepted into Louisville but later ruled ineligible by the NCAA after it was revealed that his family had received money from the school. Bowen is currently playing in Sydney with the hopes of being drafted by an NBA team in June.

Michigan State was one of the teams linked to Bowen, who played high school ball in Saginaw, Michigan, and it was a surprise at the time that a hometown kid with ability passed on the Spartans. It makes much more sense now since Izzo refused to pay to land a player, saving Michigan State from national embarrassment.

Stuff like this just goes to show how rare guys like Izzo are in today’s college sports arena. When everyone and their mother appears willing to do whatever it takes to get an edge in the cut-throat world of college athletics, let’s take a moment and give props to Izzo for taking the moral high ground.