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NCAA basketball: Ranking the 25 best college basketball coaches ever

By Nate Williamson

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils, Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils, Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Best college basketball coaches ever
(Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /

No. 9: Tom Izzo

Tom Izzo’s coaching career, like many of the legendary coaches on this list, began with a short stint as the head coach of a small-town high school.

Izzo’s journey to the great Michigan State head coach that we now know him as began at Ishpeming High School, a town in the upper peninsula of Michigan that had a population of just 6,470 in 2010. Izzo then made his way to being an assistant at Northern Michigan and Michigan State, before remaining in his home state, and taking over the reins of one of the flagship schools with the Spartans.

Since then, Izzo has led his program to become national champions in 2000, while also making the 2009 National Championship game, eight final fours, and 10 Big Ten championships in his 25 years with the Spartans.

The two-time NABC Coach of the Year award winner and three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year was also named a John Wooden Legend of Coaching in 2011 and has never had a losing record as a head coach. In addition to that, we’ve been witness to what was an incredibly memorable run, setting the conference record for the longest home-court winning streak.

One of the formidable coaches in the world of college basketball, Izzo also has a large, blooming coaching tree in the Division I realm and beyond, with plenty of time left to go in his long, illustrious career.