Draymond Green and Tom Izzo were honored Sunday by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as National Player and Coach of the Year.
The senior forward and head coach led the Spartans to a 29-8 season, Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The award for Green makes him the third Spartan to earn National Player of the Year honors. Scott Skiles and Shawn Respert are the two former Spartan with the honor.
“It means a lot to be one of only three players of the great Spartan tradition to win a player of the year award,” said Green in a release. “We’re talking about greats like Smith, Cleaves, Johnson, Kelser and many more. For me to win an award of such great magnitude means a lot for me to be able to contribute to making this an even better program. I consider myself lucky to follow in their footsteps.”
The award joins Green’s accolades of various All-American teams, NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team and Big Ten Player of the Year.
It’s the the second time Izzo’s earned the association’s nod for Coach of the Year. It’s Izzo’s eighth national honor in his career.
Earlier this season, Izzo was named Coach of the Year by CBSSports.com. He was also named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
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