With Michigan State headed to Chicago area, for the only time this season, we revisit this exclusive interview with Drew Valentine, discussing Tom Izzo and MSU, from Chicago College Basketball Media Day
We recently had an exclusive with Loyola coach Drew Valentine, and we covered this game, the marquee contest on the Ramblers’ pre-conference slate, in detail. Although both teams are currently unranked, it should be a really tightly contested affair.
It’s going to be special for Drew Valentine to face the program of his brother.
“My brother trained with me at Loyola all summer so I see him a lot,” Drew Valentine said of Denzel Valentine.
He’s a really talented player and its been fun to watch his journey- as he was a player that people didn’t know if he was good enough to play at Michigan State, to (then) going into his sixth year (now) in the NBA.
Drew, the youngest men’s basketball coach in NCAA Division 1, is in his first season in charge at the lakeshore campus.
In his four years as an assistant on Porter Moser’s staff, Valentine has been a part of 99 wins, two sweet sixteens and one final four.
In building his program, Valentine takes a lot from MSU mentor Tom Izzo, the dean of Big Ten coaches.
“The biggest thing with coach Izzo is the relationship piece, he coaches guys hard, but they know he cares about them,” Valentine said.
“He knows they’re good players, he’s just pushing them further than they think they can go. Having those kind of relationships with my players is something I’m really trying to do, both when I was an assistant and now as a head coach.
Valentine then added the following:
“Also, how hard you have to go, every single day- the mentality of how hard it is to win championships.
“You got to be consistent with your motor and your energy and that’s one thing i take from him as he’s one of the best in the country at doing that.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.