Trice joins chorus of praise for Izzo

JORDAN GERRANS push he needed to take his first professional contract overseas.

“A teammate of mine was getting married a week before I decided to come to Australia and I talked through it with coach Izzo there,” Trice said.

“He said that would be a great plan to go to Australia.

“He gave it the stamp of approval and it ended up working out well. “I owe coach Izzo a lot.” Izzo was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Symphony Hall and devoted the majority of his speech to thanking those who helped him throughout his life and career.

“It is a blessing to play for a Hall of Fame coach,” Trice said. “In my eyes, he is one of, if not the best, to ever coach the game.

“He never gets the biggest recruits at the start of each year, he works hard to get those lower-level guys and models them into players he needs.

“I truly feel happy for him because when his players do well, he is that happy for them.

“He is genuine and that is one thing I loved about going to Michigan State, all colleges preach family but they prove it.”

The Snakes play the first game of their Australian Basketball Challenge in Brisbane today and Trice is hopeful he can return from a slight knee complaint.

He trained fully with the Taipans squad on Wednesday afternoon before flying out.

“I am taking it day by day,” Trice said.

“I do not care who we are playing, I just want to play, I am that kind of guy.”