Isaiah Dahlman Question

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Section201

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I thought about this during the tourney when Isaiah was cemented to the bench even when MSU was shorthanded for multiple reasons and I have to ask for some opinions of those here at the hole regarding Isaiah's career at MSU. It seems that in most cases when a kid gets to the point that it is obvious he will not play much, he transfers and may even be "pushed" to transfer out. For some reason Isaiah stuck it out.

I respect him for staying and I respect Coach Izzo for keeping him on board, eating a scholarship, but still I have to ask, why would he stay?
 

Simple.. he didn't see a future for himself playing basketball, so he decided to take the free education at a school he liked, while tagging along for a few rides in the tournament
 

He's attending Michigan State to get a degree, not simply to play basketball. Yes, they go hand-in-hand, but as long as he's conducted himself the right way, and worked hard in practice, there is no reason for a coach to back out on the commitment he made to the kid when he recruited him.
 

madtown gopher

There are several reasons why Dahlman would stay. First, as mentioned, he wants a degree from a good school. Also, he's a person of character. Izzo has always spoken highly of him, even making Isaiah one of the captains this year.

Dahlman is a student of the game. I would not be surprised if he signs on as a graduate assistant, and ends up coaching some day. He would be a good one. In watching him play over the years, it is obvious he has a feel for the game. However, he's an in-betweener, size and speed-wise. Too slight and slow to cover the 2, 3, or 4.
 

madtown

madtown gopher said:
There are several reasons why Dahlman would stay. First, as mentioned, he wants a degree from a good school. Also, he's a person of character. Izzo has always spoken highly of him, even making Isaiah one of the captains this year.

Dahlman is a student of the game. I would not be surprised if he signs on as a graduate assistant, and ends up coaching some day. He would be a good one. In watching him play over the years, it is obvious he has a feel for the game. However, he's an in-betweener, size and speed-wise. Too slight and slow to cover the 2, 3, or 4.
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Yours and others all have good responses. In a day of one and dones and everyone wanting to get to that next level it is actually very refreshing to have a case like this. As I said, I commend him and Izzo. A good degree from a good college and years of tutoring from one of the best coaches in the game are huge benefits to carry through life.
 


It's especially commendable for Dahlman to have stayed, considering the type of coach Tom Izzo is. Yes, the guy is a genius when it comes to the X's and O's, and he obviously has great respect for a guy like Dahlman who has worked so hard for so little playing time during his career at MSU. But anyone, like me, who has heard the type of venomous language that comes out of Izzo's mouth during a closed practice, has even more respect for a kid like that. I worked at the Metrodome during the 2009 NCAA Tournament, and could hear some pretty explicit words spewing from Izzo's mouth during the team's "closed" practice. It's not like Izzo is alone, as there are countless coaches who drop f-bombs left and right when they're trying to teach a point. But it's not like Dahlman was having to put up with that in order to get his 20+ minutes per game. He was going through it just to sit on the bench for the majority of the time, and I agree that he has what it takes to be a great coach someday.
 

Isaiah and Gopher alumni day

I'm sure it was discussed at the time, but I thought it was a very classy move on Izzo's part putting Isaiah in the game at the Barn - and if I recall correctly, it was actually a close game at the time. Dahlman's grampa John Kundla was preset as part of the group of Gopher basketball alums honored at half-time.
 

tenacious

BigTenaciousD said:
I'm sure it was discussed at the time, but I thought it was a very classy move on Izzo's part putting Isaiah in the game at the Barn - and if I recall correctly, it was actually a close game at the time. Dahlman's grampa John Kundla was preset as part of the group of Gopher basketball alums honored at half-time.
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Izzo also started him against Wofford, the team his brother Noah plays for.

"Noah Dahlman led the Terriers (4-5) with 19 points. He was 8 of 13 from the field and 3 of 5 from the line. And he got the better of his brother, Isaiah, who started and scored two points for Michigan State.

"My brother was hyping this up a lot,” Noah said. “I love to compete against him. This was something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

Isaiah went to an old phrase to describe his feelings.

“This was the icing on the cake,” Isaiah said. “They say that you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. I did tonight with this win."

Tip of the hat to Izzo.
 

Minnie Soda said:
It's especially commendable for Dahlman to have stayed, considering the type of coach Tom Izzo is. Yes, the guy is a genius when it comes to the X's and O's, and he obviously has great respect for a guy like Dahlman who has worked so hard for so little playing time during his career at MSU. But anyone, like me, who has heard the type of venomous language that comes out of Izzo's mouth during a closed practice, has even more respect for a kid like that. I worked at the Metrodome during the 2009 NCAA Tournament, and could hear some pretty explicit words spewing from Izzo's mouth during the team's "closed" practice. It's not like Izzo is alone, as there are countless coaches who drop f-bombs left and right when they're trying to teach a point. But it's not like Dahlman was having to put up with that in order to get his 20+ minutes per game. He was going through it just to sit on the bench for the majority of the time, and I agree that he has what it takes to be a great coach someday.
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Unless you are privy to happenings at more than one practice session, your conclusions are based on next to nothing. Coaches at a high competitive level do all sorts of things to try and reach individuals and teams. What you heard at one practice may or may not have been commonplace. It's probably best not to assume it was. Other anecdotal evidence found on this thread seems to indicate Izzo is the type of coach most people would wish on their sons.
 



Minnie Soda said:
It's especially commendable for Dahlman to have stayed, considering the type of coach Tom Izzo is. Yes, the guy is a genius when it comes to the X's and O's, and he obviously has great respect for a guy like Dahlman who has worked so hard for so little playing time during his career at MSU. But anyone, like me, who has heard the type of venomous language that comes out of Izzo's mouth during a closed practice, has even more respect for a kid like that. I worked at the Metrodome during the 2009 NCAA Tournament, and could hear some pretty explicit words spewing from Izzo's mouth during the team's "closed" practice. It's not like Izzo is alone, as there are countless coaches who drop f-bombs left and right when they're trying to teach a point. But it's not like Dahlman was having to put up with that in order to get his 20+ minutes per game. He was going through it just to sit on the bench for the majority of the time, and I agree that he has what it takes to be a great coach someday.
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Sorry Minnie, but the word "naive" comes to mind. In the high stakes world of big-time college basketball, Izzo is near the top, whether you like how he communicates with his players or not. Coming from a multi-generational basketball family, I'm sure he's heard it all before, ad nauseum.
The kid peaked out at about 18-19, got overrecruited, and Izzo kept him, and Dahlman enjoyed the ride, working his butt off every day in practice, helping the team in any way he could. This is a good story with a good outcome. I have no doubt that Dahlman will be fine and be successful in whatever endeavour comes his way.
 

guru said:
Sorry Minnie, but the word "naive" comes to mind. In the high stakes world of big-time college basketball, Izzo is near the top, whether you like how he communicates with his players or not. Coming from a multi-generational basketball family, I'm sure he's heard it all before, ad nauseum.
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I didn't say anything about my personal feelings for what words come out of Izzo's mouth, just that it must be tough to deal with at times, especially when you're a player who won't see the court very often. I have no problem with coaches using choice language to get their point across.

And, as for the person above, who thought Izzo's language that day at the Dome was an isolated incident, I can assure you it wasn't. I know people who know Coach Izzo personally, and have heard from them, as well as from other coaches, that he's like that all the time in practice.

That has no effect on his coaching ability. I'm not saying that he's a bad coach because he uses some bad language. Most coaches do. Again, I just think it would be difficult for someone like Dahlman to get yelled at on a regular basis when there's really not much time in the spotlight for him.
 

Minnie Soda said:
It's especially commendable for Dahlman to have stayed, considering the type of coach Tom Izzo is. Yes, the guy is a genius when it comes to the X's and O's, and he obviously has great respect for a guy like Dahlman who has worked so hard for so little playing time during his career at MSU. But anyone, like me, who has heard the type of venomous language that comes out of Izzo's mouth during a closed practice, has even more respect for a kid like that. I worked at the Metrodome during the 2009 NCAA Tournament, and could hear some pretty explicit words spewing from Izzo's mouth during the team's "closed" practice. It's not like Izzo is alone, as there are countless coaches who drop f-bombs left and right when they're trying to teach a point. But it's not like Dahlman was having to put up with that in order to get his 20+ minutes per game. He was going through it just to sit on the bench for the majority of the time, and I agree that he has what it takes to be a great coach someday.
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I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no way to know at this point whether or not Dahlman has what it takes to be a great coach someday. What are you basing this on? Is it because a majority of the great coaches out there today were role players at the college level? I'm not saying he won't be - I mean who knows if he evens wants to coach - but this is like when Sid tells everyone that a certain Gopher basketball or football player will make a great "executive" for a local company someday. What does that even mean? Just because they got their degree? I realize you're just trying to compliment a local kid but you might as well say he'd make a great astronaut someday...
 

Art Vandelay said:
I'm sorry, but there is absolutely no way to know at this point whether or not Dahlman has what it takes to be a great coach someday. What are you basing this on? Is it because a majority of the great coaches out there today were role players at the college level? I'm not saying he won't be - I mean who knows if he evens wants to coach - but this is like when Sid tells everyone that a certain Gopher basketball or football player will make a great "executive" for a local company someday. What does that even mean? Just because they got their degree? I realize you're just trying to compliment a local kid but you might as well say he'd make a great astronaut someday...
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The Dahlman coaching idea wasn't mine. It was posted by someone a few posts above mine. All I was doing was agreeing that he seems to have the tools that are necessary to be a good coach. He played for a great team, but sat on the bench for most of the time, which probably allowed him to study the game, and his college coach is a sure thing for the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He also seems to have good character, from what I've read.

As for Sid's comments about so-and-so having the potential to be a great "executive," he's probably just basing his assessment on whether or not a player is intelligent, speaks well, and is a good leader, as those would be qualities found in many top executives.
 



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