Tag: Mike Garland

Tom Izzo releases statement on the retirement of long-time assistant coach Mike Garland

Tom Izzo released a statement on the retirement of his long-time assistant coach and friend Mike Garland

Tom Izzo met Mike Garland on his first night of college at Northern Michigan in the 1970’s. They have been friends and co-workers ever since. Now, Garland will ride off into the sunset, as he announced his retirement on Thursday, June 9.

Naturally, Tom Izzo released a statement on the retirement of his old friend, which you can see below:

“Words can’t truly express what Mike Garland mean to me. We’ve been friends since we met the first night in college and basically have lived the rest of our professional lives together. To say he’s just my friend doesn’t even scratch the surface of our relationship. He’s my brother for life.

“At the same time, we all know that life moves on and this is a great time for Mike to step into a deserved retirement after a tremendous career as a leader in college basketball. The impact he has had on not only this program, but also on nearly every young man he’s met while coaching in this sport is incredible. To say that Mike Garland was just a basketball coach would be a disservice. More than anything, Mike has been a teacher and a counselor who has provided life lessons to everyone who came through the doors at the Breslin Center, from players to managers to coaches to staff and definitely to me.

“Mike, his wonderful wife Cynthia and their beautiful family, Simone, Quentin and Michael Ray, have been a big part of our Spartan Family and I thank each of them for what they have done for us.

“If a friend is supposed to have your back, I always knew Mike had mine. Whether in college on the court together, driving his wife to the hospital when she delivered Quentin or just going for all the jogs through campus. Mike will be missed but never forgotten.

“It will be hard for me to come into the office at 7:30 every morning where Mike and I would sit in my office and just talk and not have him there. It will be hard for me to be out of the court or to look down to our bench and not hear his voice or see him there, but Mike Garland‘s presence at Michigan State is going to be felt for a long, long time.”

[listicle id=100408]

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Long-time Michigan State basketball assistant coach Mike Garland announces retirement

After spending 22 years on the MSU coaching staff, Mike Garland has officially announced his retirement

After 22 years with Michigan State basketball, long-time assistant coach Mike Garland has announced his retirement. Garland served as a special assistant to Tom Izzo last year and has been on the staff since 1996, helping lead the Spartans to the 2000 National Championship, seven Final Fours, 20 NCAA Tournaments, six Big Ten Tournament Championships and 10 Big Ten Regular Season titles.

Garland released this statement on his retirement:

“I’ve worked alongside so many great people here, but the part of the job I’ve always cared for most has been the opportunity to work with young men and impact their lives, each of whom I wish I could mention by name.

“There have been a lot of successful moments on the court here and that’s what Tom has built, one of the best college basketball programs in the country.  It’s been an honor to be a part of those championships and Final Fours and to see so many of our players go on to play professionally.  I’ve been just as proud to see so many of our players have success in the business world and to become fathers with wonderful families.

“You don’t get the chance to work with a friend for so long like I have with Tom Izzo since we met at Northern Michigan in the early 1970s. He gave me the opportunity to be a part of this program when he became the head coach in 1996 and there is nothing I regret about the decision.

“My wife, Cynthia, and my family have grown up here and Michigan State is a very special place and will always be part of us.

“I always thought that Chief (Tom) and I would share the day of our departure together. And of course I could have given him a few more years to make that dream come true, like all the others we have shared together. But after several months of thought and reflection, while sitting at the hospital bedside of my son (Michael Ray), I decided it was best for my family, while I’m in great health, to give up the game I love to pour more of myself into my wife, my children and eight grandchildren.”

[listicle id=100287]

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Michigan State basketball making slight staff changes

Tom Izzo has made a couple of changes to his coaching staff

Michigan State basketball is hosting their media day today, highlighted by a Tom Izzo press conference to talk about the upcoming season. While discussing some changes that have been made for the upcoming season, Izzo mentioned that he has made some slight changes to his coaching staff.

Mark Montgomery was hired in as a recruiting coordinator shortly after the 2020-21 season concluded. That role has changed as he will now be a full-time assistant coach on the Spartans bench.

A Michigan State alumnus, Montgomery was an assistant on Tom Izzo’s bench from 2002-2011 before taking over as the head coach at Northern Illinois.

To make room to move Montgomery onto the bench, longtime assistant Mike Garland will be transitioning to a new role as the special assistant to the head coach.

The new role will allow Garland to travel less, while still focusing on film and player development. Garland’s son has recently had heart surgery, so it is important to Garland to spend more time at home.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]