For the second time in two years, Tom Izu has lost a prominent Michigan State basketball assistant.
Spartans assistant coach Dwayne Stevens has agreed to become Western Michigan’s next head coach after spending the past 19 seasons on the IZO staff.
“It is not enough to thank (Izu) for what I have learned and for our friendship,” Stevens said in a statement. “I will be taking all of these lessons with me to Western Michigan, which I think is an ideal place for me as a head coach.
“I consider myself a blue-collar, treadmill coach and will work tirelessly to make Western Michigan one of the best teams in the Mid-America Conference and take the program to new heights.”
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The first major coaching position will be Stevens, 50, a Ferndale native who has been a candidate for several positions over the past two decades.
Stevens played for the Spartans from 1989 to 1993, then joined the coaching staff in 2003 after a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Marquette under former Izu assistant Tom Crane which included appearing in the 2003 fourth final. He also coached in Auckland for two seasons as an assistant under Greg Campy. Where the Golden Grizzlies moved to the first division.
“DJ is the ultimate home rental for Western Michigan,” Crane said in a statement. “His knowledge of basketball and his thirst for recruiting is fantastic.” “I haven’t seen him in practice in a long time and his drive and passion have amazed me lately when I saw the Spartans train. He’s got the complete package.”
During Stevens’ tenure at Izzo, MSU went to five Final Fours, won six regular season titles, won four post-season crowns and produced a record 477–189. He has mostly worked with post players, including six inducted into the NBA: Draymond Green, Adrian Payne, Deonta Davis, Brandon Dawson, Miles Bridges and Garen Jackson Jr.
“Dwayne has been more than ready to run his own show for a long time, and I think Western Michigan gets all the stars,” Ezo said in a statement. “Dwayne is a great basketball coach and a great person, and he would be a tremendous leader for their program and community. …
“I’ve known DJ since his playing days, and even then, you can tell he’d be an exceptional coach because he’s a great worker, very accomplished and a great recruiter. We’ve seen that since the day he started here. He has a great understanding of the game and the ability to extend that to The young people he coaches.”
A year ago, Dane Fife left Izzo’s staff after 10 seasons for his alma mater in Indiana. Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson has not retained him after this season.
Ezo has brought back two assistants for the 2021-22 season who had previously worked on his crew – promoting Doug Wujic and hiring Mark Montgomery after Fife’s departure. Longtime close friend Mike Garland has also shifted his role from coaching to pre-season special assistant.
The Broncos have gone 8-23 overall and 4-16 in the MAC this season under Clayton Bates, who quit last month after going 13-39 in the past two seasons. WMU hired alum Glenn Sugiyama, who helped the Spartans recruit soccer coach Mel Tucker in 2020, to help with the search that landed Stephens.
“From our first conversations, the DJ rose to the top of the incredibly competitive pool of candidates as the right choice to lead our men’s basketball program to excellence,” WMU athletic director Dan Bartholomew said in a statement. “His reputation as one of the nation’s elite recruits and his experience in developing some of the best basketball players in the world made him one of the most prominent basketball coaches in the country. However, it was his loyal and authentic personality, along with his commitment to the overall development of our student-athletes, that made him the best fit for our position “.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter Tweet embed. Read more on the Michigan Spartans and sign up for the Spartans newsletter.