To Call Or Not to Call a Timeout, Izzo Pulls Back, MSU Wins

What a crazy weekend of first and second round action. From today though, it's that burning question that all coaches have to ponder as a back and forth game inches closer to its finale. From today's thriller between 2 great teams in Michigan State and Maryland. MSU is up 1, but Maryland comes back and hits a potential game winner with 6 seconds left on the clock. MSU inbounds and brings it down the floor,

As I read The Dagger later today, clearly from the video, you can see Tom Izzo thinking about calling a timeout but he decides not to at the last second, just before MSU hits the 3-pointer with no time left on the clock,


As a coach, I think it all just comes down to the maturity of your players. With a veteran team, it's probably better not to call a timeout, because the timeout will only benefit the defense who has a chance to rest, re-collect themselves, and prepare to defend against the most probably 2 players who will take the last shot.

However, with a young, still maturing team, as a coach, I would take that timeout. It is unlikely that a young immature team would know what they should do in that situation, who should take the shot, and how they should be setup. A timeout, would at least assure that the players were in the right position.

Its hard to say whether Izzo made the right or wrong decision. From just going on the limited information I have, MSU is a team that has the experience and maturity to come down the floor with 6 seconds left and make the right play. It seems obvious now, but I think even if MSU misses that shot, based on what I know of MSU, I would still say it was the right call, to not call a timeout, but it's always a tough call, and even for Izzo, you can see he was going back and forth in his head, to call or not to call a timeout.

If you are a big Tom Izzo fan like me, then you'll probably like Coach Izzo's DVD on 'Basketball Smorgasbord' of Drills and Basketball Wisdom. Coach Izzo is the longtime coach of Michigan State.