NABC names Michigan State's Draymond Green national player of the year and Tom Izzo coach of the year (original) (raw)
By
AP PhotoMichigan State's Draymond Green and Tom Izzo led the Spartans to the Sweet 16.
EAST LANSING -- Michigan State forward Draymond Green became the third player in school history to win national player of the year honors after the National Association of Basketball Coaches named him the Division I Player of the Year on Sunday.
As Green joined Scott Skiles and Shawn Respert as the only other Spartans to win a national player of the year award, the NABC also announced that Michigan State's Tom Izzo was its national coach of the year.
Green thanked Izzo and the assistant coaches and credited them with making him believe he could become a player of the year-level player after he first came to East Lansing from Saginaw High School needing to improve his work ethic.
"For me to win an award of such great magnitude means a lot for me to be able to contribute to making this an even better program," Green said in a statement.
Green finished his senior season averaging a double-double and displaying leadership qualities not seen at Michigan State since the Mateen Cleaves era, though a national player of the year honor was not a sure thing.
Green had finished third in the voting for The Associated Press' Player of the Year award and the John R. Wooden Award, with Kentucky's Anthony Davis winning both awards and Kansas' Thomas Robinson twice finishing second.
Those awards were voted on by national media members. The NABC, which previously
, saw it differently. Davis, a freshman who will play for the national championship on Monday, was given the NABC's Defensive Player of the Year award while Green took home the big prize.
"Draymond embodies everything that is right about a college basketball player and he’s very deserving of the award,” Izzo said in a statement. "He’s done what few can do and that’s get better each and every year. Four years ago, he came to Michigan State as a talented, but out-of-shape kid from Saginaw, and it’s been neat to watch his development. He’s worked hard on improving his decision making, his body and his versatile skill set.
"Most importantly, he developed into one of the best leaders in the game. But what’s most impressive about Draymond is that, like other great leaders like a Magic Johnson, Mateen Cleaves or Steve Smith that he looked up to, winning was always his first priority. It was never about individual stats or recognition, and that’s the reason he deserves everything he gets.
Izzo and Green led Michigan State to 29 wins, a Sweet 16 appearance and a share of Big Ten regular-season championship after the Spartans began the season unranked.
For Izzo, it was the eighth national coach of the year honor he received in his career. He had previously been the NABC's national coach of the year in 2001. Last month, CBSSports.com named him national coach of the year.
He credited his players and especially Green, who became the first Michigan State player to be awarded national player of the year since the NABC and Sporting News honored Respert in 1995.
"You don’t get to coach a player like Draymond Green very often, but you appreciate it while you can," Izzo said. "His efforts, along with those of his fellow seniors and all his teammates are responsible for my award. I’ve always said that no coach ever gets to make a shot, grab a rebound or make a defensive stop. Players play the game, and this year’s team gave me everything they had. As a coach, that’s all you can ask.”
Email Diamond Leung at dleung@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/diamond83.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.