Analyst: Izzo lost recruits because he wouldn't cheat

Is Tom Izzo's Michigan State basketball roster lighter on talent because he wouldn't cheat to stack it? That's what one analyst and former coach suggested this week, in a rant on the state of college hoops.

Fran Fraschilla, an ESPN analyst and a head coach in 1992-2002 at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico, was co-hosting "College Sports Today" on SiriusXM radio Monday when a caller suggested that Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is being treated unfairly by the NCAA. Boeheim will be suspended for nine games next season, and Syracuse has to vacate 108 wins, based on recent NCAA findings of academic misconduct, improper benefits and other violations dating to 2001.

Fraschilla made the point that cheating "is not a victimless crime" because it means "a coach that doesn't cheat gets fired."

"When a coach gets caught cheating, they ought to throw the book at him," Fraschilla said. "Because there are a whole lot of other coaches out there, and I'll give you one example: The reason Tom Izzo doesn't have a great team right now is because he has not, quite frankly, he has lost some guys, at times, to schools that he wasn't willing to break rules for. And coaches who don't cheat will get fired if they don't win, and that's part of the problem I have with the NCAA. They ought to throw the book at all these guys that cheat."

Izzo suffered several high-profile recruiting losses in the 2013 and 2014 classes, including Kansas freshman forward Cliff Alexander, who is being held out while the NCAA reportedly investigates whether his family received impermissible benefits from an NBA agent.

MSU reportedly was the longtime leader for the Chicago big man, but Alexander abruptly cut off contact in the fall of 2013 and committed to Kansas. Shortly after that, Izzo was asked at Big Ten basketball media day in Chicago about recruiting in that city. (He also had lost out on Chicagoans Jabari Parker (Duke, class of 2013), Jahlil Okafor (Duke, 2014) and Tyler Ulis (Kentucky, 2014)).

"Good players, a lot of coaches, a lot of coaches and good players," Izzo said of recruiting Chicago, then added: "There's a lot of middlemen."

Moments later, Izzo clarified that Parker and his family "were fair and honest with us."

After Saturday's 74-72 win at Indiana, Izzo spoke out in defense of IU coach and former MSU assistant Tom Crean, taking issue with the "program is out of control" story line that has greeted some off-the-court issues for the Hoosiers.

"My program had problems a few years ago, too," Izzo said, likely referring to the 2010-11 season that saw guard Korie Lucious dismissed for rules violations and Izzo suspended a game because a coach who knew one of MSU's recruiting targets was paid to work an MSU camp. "As you look on the ticker, there's a lot of really good programs (with issues). Some keep them down a little more than others. Sooner or later, they come out."

This is not the first time that Izzo has been lauded for his integrity by an outside source. ESPN.com writer Dana O'Neil did an anonymous survey of 20 coaches in July 2010 about the state of the game and cheating.

"Look at Michigan State,'' one of the coaches said. "They're there every year. When you see the dips, then you wonder. What happened? What didn't happen? But a guy like Tom Izzo, he's there every year because you know what his program is about, and so do his players. There's a consistency and an integrity.''

Of those 20 coaches, 11 voted the Big Ten the "cleanest" league in college basketball. Fourteen voted the SEC the dirtiest.

This year's Spartans (21-10) start the Big Ten tournament Friday in Chicago, as the No. 3 seed. They will receive the program's 18th straight NCAA bid Sunday.

Dawson, Valentine honored: MSU senior Branden Dawson and junior Denzel Valentine were named to the All-District V team Tuesday by the United States Basketball Writers Association. The district includes the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Dawson and Valentine were two of 10 honored, including district player of the year Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin), Sam Dekker (Wisconsin), D'Angelo Russell (Ohio State), Yogi Ferrell (Indiana), A.J. Hammons (Purdue), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Kellen Dunham (Butler) and Keifer Sykes (Green Bay).

Contact Joe Rexrode: jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.