Some topics are pretty much undemanding for Jim Boylen to comment on.
Friday was maybe the easiest since Boylen took over as Bulls head coach back on Dec. 3.
It was bring up the Tom Izzo-Aaron Henry incident from Thursday afternoon Michigan State-Bradley game, hit the red record button on the Sony, and enjoy the emotional fireworks.
Two things that were important to note, however:
One, Boylen coached with Izzo at Michigan State, so has a very close relationship with the program and the man. Two, Boylen has some of that old-school mentality, and went through his own criticism from the outside because of the tough love gauntlet he threw down on his Bulls players his first week on the job.
So yes, it was a subject near and dear to Boylen, and one he didn’t back away from.
“Well, I think people need to understand our job, especially at all levels, is to prepare the child for the road,’’ Boylen said. “[Izzo] didn’t take [Henry] out [of the game]. He coached him in that moment, Michigan State has high standards of play, and Tom Izzo’s job, and I think our job, is to push a guy to a place he can’t take himself. You go to Michigan State you understand that, that’s why you go there. I’ve been there, I recruited those guys. That’s what they do there. That’s why they build pros, that’s why they get to the Final Four, that’s what you sign up for, and Coach Izzo is direct and honest.
“He puts time into his guys for permission to be real. He lets guys come back at him, and he goes at them. That’s the relationship, that’s what’s built. He’s not an absentee father and guys love playing for him. I’m disappointed you can’t coach a guy hard these days without somebody making a big deal about it. It’s disappointing.’’
Boylen would know.
His first week on the job was all about coaching his Bulls players hard.
It was after a blowout loss to Boston – a back-to-back on the schedule by the way – that Boylen called for a practice on what is usually an off-day. Add to the fact that Boylen was questioning the toughness of his team, felt they weren’t in good enough condition, and wanted them in the facility to start working on both fronts, well, once word leaked out that two players tried to start a mutiny that really had no legs to it, Boylen was judged in the court of public opinion.
Looking back on it now, especially in the wake of the Izzo incident, Boylen feels that it’s society just becoming over-sensitive to what coaching is all about.
“Good players want to be coached,’’ Boylen said. “They want to be pushed, they know they have to be. In a moment it’s emotional. This [NCAA Tournament] is a one-and-done thing. You can’t make mistakes. Tom Izzo is coaching [Henry] for that game and that moment, but he’s also coaching him the next time in that moment. That’s what it is. I’m disappointed that people are upset about it. Obviously they haven’t been coached or they don’t understand the moment, or they don’t understand Michigan State, and they definitely don’t understand where Tom Izzo is coming from and what he’s done.
“It’s about winning. It’s about ownership of your actions and winning. And Tom Izzo is a leader. I’ve said this before: The basketball is the basketball. What wins in this league is dynamic leadership, and Izzo is a dynamic leader.’’
