Texas Tech's Chris Beard knows exactly how hard he can be with his players to get them to respond — and he respects Michigan State's Tom Izzo for being the master at that old-school, tough-love coaching style.
"I love coaching this game, and I love coaching it hard," said Beard, who will coach against Izzo in the Final Four on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium. "In terms of Michigan State, he's the pinnacle of that. Coach Izzo, to me, is everything I've always wanted to be. He's a players' coach. You see the hugs and he gets you emotional."
Izzo took some criticism after a heated confrontation with freshman Aaron Henry during the Spartans' NCAA tournament first-round victory against Bradley. The angry Hall of Fame coach had to be held back by his players near the sideline.
"He coaches his players hard," Beard said. "He's on them. He holds them accountable."
Although he doesn't personally know about the relationship Izzo has with his players, Beard said "there's no doubt" that there's a lot of trust involved, just like in his Red Raiders program.
"I've never coached a good player that didn't want to be coached hard ever," Beard said. "I can't name one guy that I've ever coached who's an all-conference player, a pro at any level I've coached that didn't want us to bring it."
Mourning Hussle
A chatty Brandone Francis danced and smiled outside the team locker room, gamely taking questions after the end of the scheduled media session. The Texas Tech senior guard admired and posed with the giant image of himself on the wall with his teammates.
Francis said he was eager to see his pal, Karl-Anthony Towns, and had been in contact with the Timberwolves star earlier in the day.
