College basketball: Michigan State vs. Rutgers - Jan. 31, 2016

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo yells out to his team in the first half of their Big Ten basketball game against Rutgers at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Sunday, January 31, 2016.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

EAST LANSING -- Tom Izzo considers himself well-versed in the world of basketball, and in the prospects of the NBA draft.

But as he sat with Denzel Valentine and Deyonta Davis in the draft's green room on Thursday night in New York, pick after pick went to international players he had never heard of.

By the time the first round was over, a total of 14 international players had been picked, the most ever the first round of a draft.

It signaled a new trend, and one that the veteran Michigan State coach isn't necessarily on board with.

"I think the system's broke," Izzo said on Friday. "I think we've got to fix it and yet it's not a bad deal for the NBA. I think it's really hurting our college guys."

The NBA's rules allow teams to "draft and stash" international players: retain their draft rights while the players continue to develop in overseas leagues.

College players, meanwhile, are ineligible to return to college once they declare for the draft, meaning teams must bring them into the NBA or the D-League after drafting them.

The result is many teams opting for international players over young college players, and Izzo thought that was partly an explanation for why a player like Davis fell to the second round when he was projected to go in the top 15.

"I guarantee you there's 10 american kids that are better than some of those guys, but when you can redshirt them and keep them over there, that makes it more convenient to draft, because you do retain those rights," Izzo said.

Izzo said he would like basketball to be able to go to a model like in hockey, where players can get drafted and then return to school and develop.

In that situation, Izzo said, a player like Davis would choose to return to school instead of turn professional next year.

Davis made the decision to leave Michigan State after one year, under the thinking that he would be picked in the top 15.

Izzo blamed media mock drafts for feeding into that thinking, and for why Davis spent draft night somewhat disappointed.

"He was a little down, and I just told him 'Welcome to the real world, nothing's more real world than the NBA draft,'" Izzo said. "It was something that he had to learn and struggle with a little bit."

Yet Izzo still thinks Davis went to a good situation with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he thinks he will be seen as a "steal" and have the chance to go the route of Draymond Green in becoming a successful second-round pick.

For Michigan State's other NBA draft pick, Valentine, there was only positive things to say. Izzo said in Valentine going No. 14 to the Chicago Bulls he goes to a good landing spot that's nearby and where he'll be needed.

"I think they like his versatility and his court sense," Izzo said. "I think 'Zel was ecstatic, you could see that," Izzo said. "It was a lot of fun to be there with him, his family was great."

-- Follow MLive Sports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram