When Oregon Ducks men’s basketball coach Dana Altman officially retired on Wednesday, he didn’t point to his age, his accomplishments or the years he spent building the Ducks into a consistent NCAA Tournament team.
Instead, Altman referenced comments made by Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, 71, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer who has led the Spartans since 1995, about knowing when it was time to step away from coaching.
“Last March, someone I truly respect, Tom Izzo made a comment. Somebody asked him about retirement, and he said, ‘The minute I don’t feel good, the minute I don’t feel I’m giving my AD, president, and school every ounce of energy I have every day, or that energy drops, you don’t have to worry about me being here,'” Altman recalled during Wednesday’s press conference. “And I had two weeks off in August, and I thought my energy would return, and it didn’t.”
Izzo made those comments following Michigan State’s Sweet 16 loss to UConn in the NCAA Tournament. When asked where he saw himself in five years, the longtime Spartans coach pushed back against retirement speculation and explained that he would know when it was time to leave if he could no longer give his athletic director, university president and school everything he had each day…