State of bind
Multiple scandals put Spartans in tough spot headed into March
Nothing has changed since the season started. Michigan State remains a favorite to win the national championship.
But everything has changed since the season started. The Spartans can’t be sure if Tom Izzo’s 23rd season as head coach will be his last in East Lansing. The Big Ten regular season champion can’t even be certain if any banners they raise will remain in the rafters.
Already embroiled in scandal, following reports of its mishandling of alleged sexual abuse allegations, Michigan State arrives in New York this week for the Big Ten Tournament with even more baggage — following Yahoo Sports’ release of federal documents linking the school to the FBI’s corruption probe in college basketball, having potentially violated NCAA rules via alleged payments from agents.
According to expense report spreadsheets, cited in the report, star sophomore Miles Bridges’ mother, Cynthia, was listed as having a $70.05 meal with Christian Dawkins — who worked for former NBA agent Andy Miller and was arrested in September — as well as receiving a payment of $400 from Dawkins, while Izzo was listed as having dinner with Miller’s associate.
“While we will cooperate with any and all investigations, we have no reason to believe that I, any member of our staff or student-athlete did anything in vio- lation of NCAA rules,” Izzo said in a statement.
Though it appeared Bridges’ appearance in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments could potentially nullify any team achievements, Michigan State announced Saturday he has been cleared by the NCAA to resume playing Sunday against Wisconsin.
“After learning of the allegations in yesterday’s Yahoo! Sports article, our compliance office conducted a thorough internal review. Michigan State presented its findings to the NCAA, and Miles Bridges has been cleared for competition moving forward,” interim athletic director Bill Beekman said in a statement.
In October, Bridges was lauded for bypassing guaranteed millions in the NBA draft and returning to chase Michigan State’s first national championship since 2000. At Big Ten Media Day in October, he appeared at Madison Square Garden, stating he had nothing to worry about regarding the FBI probe.
“I knew eventually stuff was gonna start coming out like that,” Bridges said then. “I’m just happy I went to Michigan State and did things the right way instead of going other places. ... People are gonna be way more scared to do stuff now illegally. I think the FBI coming in really helps that. You hear things all the time about people getting money, people doing this and people doing that.”
Mu lt ip le Division I head coaches t ol d The Post they believe Izzo’s job likely will be safe, and proving the Hall of Famer committed any wrongdoing will be difficult.
“What if that agent was going to dinner with Tom Izzo to talk about his senior who is about to be a firstround pick?” the coach said. “If the agent expenses it and says dinner with him, there’s nothing illegal about that. What they have to prove is what he said to that agent is, ‘Go get that kid, and pay him.’”
The more sickening Michigan State scandal involves former head athletic doctor Larry Nassar, who was recently sentenced for up to 175 years for committing decades of sexual abuse, leading to last month’s resignations of university president Lou Anna Simon and athletic director Mark Hollis — who was criticized in an ESPN report, along with Izzo, for their handling of sexual assault allegations.
Izzo drew the ire of Lynn Raisman — the mother of the goldmedal winning gymnast and one of Nassar’s victims, Aly — and many others after his tone-deaf remarks of how “difficult” the situation was for him, before adding, “I hope the right person was convicted.”
Izzo, 63, apologized for his comments days later and said he hoped his team could be “part of the healing process.”
“I’m not going anywhere, in my mind,” Izzo said on Jan. 26. “I’m definitely not retiring.”
Another coach, who has known Izzo for years, doesn’t think the scandals will affect the players’ performance but does believe it is taking a toll on the Spartans’ coach.
“It has to have an impact,” the coach said. “They’ve done a good job of shielding those players, and giving them talking points. For Izzo, he’s been a lot more emotion- al in his press conferences. When you’re leading a program like he is, and the spotlight he’s in because of his stature, it’s a lot to deal with.”
Still, will any team be able to take down the Spartans on the court?
In March, Izzo’s teams often peak. He’s taken the school to seven Final Fours, and this version ranks among his best. They are the third-best 3-point shooting team in the nation (42.1 percent), have the top-ranked field-goal percentage defense (36.1) and rank sixth in rebounding.
Michigan State (27-3) enters Sunday on an 11-game win streak and with the best regular season record of Izzo’s tenure.
“The biggest thing is you have a couple top-10 picks on that roster [Bridges and freshman power forward Jaren Jackson Jr.] and some really good role players, who know what’s expected of them,” said Stony Brook coach Jeff Boals, who faced the Spartans early this season. “They play really hard defensively, and push the ball a million miles an hour in transition. ... I’ve watched them a lot since, and they’ve won a lot of close games, and that’s because of their experience.”
Michigan State remains the favorite to cut down the net in New York, and among the most likely to do it again, as national champions April 2.
But who, or what, will survive the season?