Meet Dane Fife, Michigan State Basketball's New Assistant Coach

by Pete Rossman on Apr 20, 2011 6:41 PM CDT in Michigan State Spartans Basketball

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not at all surprised and 10 being utter astonishment, today's hire of Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne head coach Dane Fife as the newest Michigan State assistant coach was about a 2.5. Izzo has made his appreciation for Fife well known for more than a decade now, ever since he tried to recruit 1998's Mr. Basketball in Michigan to MSU. Since then Izzo has helped Fife out in many ways. When Fife was picked as IPFW's head coach Izzo offered his aid:

When I first decided that I wanted to be a college coach, Coach Izzo had me come meet him in his office. He has been willing to call recruits for us and you just don't see that very much. It's not just me, Coach Izzo does that for a lot of people.

Michigan State also scheduled a game at IPFW in 2008 as another show of support. Seeing as Fife will be an assistant coach it will be hard to predict how his skills will translate to the Spartans' performance, if any change can be discerned at all. After the jump though, I'll give three areas where improvements could happen:

Outside shooting -- Contrary to Izzo's philosophies, Fife's Mastodon teams exhibit the hallmarks of a perimeter-oriented squad: low turnover percentage, low offensive rebound percentage, and a low free throw rate. One of the critical reasons this approach worked was that the past three years his teams have had three point percentages that have ranked third (40.8%, 2008-09), 35th (37.9%, 2009-10), and 22nd (38.4%, 2010-11) nationally. Four of the Mastodons ranked in the top 300 in offensive rating this past season (compare that to zero for Michigan State), and let's hope that Fife can rub off some of that touch on Keith Appling and Russell Byrd this season.
Perimeter, specifcally three-point defense -- Flashback to February of this year. All of the Big Ten teams had unprecedented access to the hottest spot in town -- the three-point shot. In the six-game span where MSU went 1-5, the following were their defensive three-point percentages: 47.1%, 50.0%, 47.6%, 52.4% (the only win), 33.3%, and 62.7% Those were the low points in a season where the Spartans allowed 36.3% of opponents' three-pointers, 270th in the nation. Compare that mediocre number to IPFW's three-point defense the past three years; the Mastodons' opponents have shot 33.0% from behind the arc in that time. While Izzo teams have typically had decent three-point defense now may be the time for a refresher course, and Fife, an ex-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, could very well provide it.
Intangible leadership-like substance -- I'll be honest -- the existence of this last bullet point will only be determined on wins and losses. KJ tweeted that Fife is Travis Walton with head coaching experience, and I'd have to agree. Not only was Fife the youngest head coach when he was handed the reigns to the Mastodons at age 25 (random thought: did cavemen ride Mastodons? The evidence says YES), he held that title until he joined MSU today. That has to be good for something, but I'll be honest -- I have no idea how Fife's head coaching experience will translate or manifest itself, but it has to be a positive.

BONUS LINKS! Joey Nowak of The Grand Rapids Press and late of the State News gives his thoughts , Joe Rexrode had the first interview with Fife this afternoon, the official press release.

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Comments

I think it is a great hire. He brings a unique skill set for a young assistant coach and he’s somewhat outside the Izzo Tree, which, I think, is a good thing.

I’m curious about whether Fife knows much about Byrd based on the Fort Wayne connection. I don’t know if he was someone who went after Byrd since IPFW can’t really compete with MSU, IU, Kentucky, etc. for recruits.

by SpartanBoiler on Apr 20, 2011 7:34 PM CDT reply actions

I like the hire.

Fife is a lot like Izzo-a tireless worker who wants badly to make his mark. His tactical experience as a player and coach is covered very well in the post, so no need to rehash anything said well above.

Fife is a good fit for this staff-you now have one older assistant who has been a head coach (Garland), one guy who is on deck for a job in the next few years (Stephens) and a young guy with head coaching experience who has huge career aspirations. Fife wants to be the head coach at a major program, be it MSU, his alma mater, Indiana, or one of the other biggies.

He will push Izzo hard-and Izzo knows this. I don’t think this is necessarily Tom’s successor-I don’t think Fife will want to wait that long to move along. I see this as a Doug Wojick kind of hire, which would be great for everyone involved.

This is the best news the program has had in awhile. A good day.

by rook34 on Apr 20, 2011 8:37 PM CDT reply actions

I love the hire

If he recruits like I imagine he will, he should be fantastic. Should use this as a springboard to a major conference head job.

by That Guy Green on Apr 20, 2011 9:03 PM CDT reply actions

Im going to preemptively ask people to stop

talking about the possibility of Fife as Izzo’s successor. Is it possible? Sure. But Tom Izzo has plenty of fire left in him, he isn’t leaving for a while. I highly doubt Izzo would hire someone with the intent that he is a future replacement, rather Izzo knows Fife and thinks he can help the team. Fife wouldn’t come here with any heir apparent thoughts in his head. Yes he turned down Purdue, but its not because he thinks he’ll replace Izzo before Painter, it’s because he knows the track record of Izzo’s assistants getting hired (hows that Matt Painter coaching tree doing?). That’s why Izzo can pick any assistant he wants, because they know that he is the best bet they have to advance up to a head coach, besides maybe Coach K.

Also while Izzo is here and still going strong I simply don’t like the idea of discussing when he isn’t. He’s not leaving and I think that he’ll either announce a successor before his last season or simply deal with the hiring afterwards. So lets speculate and throw around names like Fife, Gregory, Stevens, Heath, Cleaves, whoever then, shall we?

by Loneytunes on Apr 20, 2011 10:02 PM CDT reply actions

Different take on successor speculation

I actually like the speculation—though I agree in thinking that Izzo will be at MSU for another decade to fifteen years. It’s a reminder that MSU men’s basketball has had exactly two head coaches in my lifetime (and I’m 35). That’s remarkable stability and continuity (and success) and thinking about how that will extend into the future is rather appealing—like discussing prospective recruits.

by njd on Apr 21, 2011 11:14 AM CDT up reply actions

+.5 to both of you

I think it’s a bittersweet kind of deal. On one hand, it’s hard to think of a time at MSU without Izzo, and when there is no signs of him stopping soon, it’s a little bit pointless and impossible to predict. On the other hand, at least for me, it’s always on my mind when i think about assistant coaches and who could be next in line, considering Izzo was here for 12 (13?) years before he became head coach.

by one23 on Apr 21, 2011 12:03 PM CDT up reply actions

+1

Regardless of who Izzo hired, there would be speculation about that person as a potential successor. That’s only natural when you make a change to the coaching staff for the first time in 4 years and you’re entering your 17th season as head coach. (as a quick aside, how crazy is it that Izzo, as of right now, has coached only 3 fewer seasons than Jud? 16 vs 19)

Now, I think it’s way too premature to suggest that Fife would be that guy, given that we have no idea how long Izzo plans on continuing, what Fife’s career goals are, or how successful he’ll be in this job, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to talk about the future generally. It’s also a good reminder that MSU should be in an ideal position when the time comes to hire a new coach – that is, following a planned retirement as opposed to an unplanned termination, where we will have Izzo’s full involvement and plenty of time to make the right choice. You know, in 2026.

"You can look at the dinosaur that weighs you down or you can look at the big pot of gold (and) try to say, 'You know what? I'm going to try to live up to expectations.' " -Tom Izzo, Iron Mountain Philosopher

by Ducking Delvon on Apr 21, 2011 12:24 PM CDT up reply actions

I don't mind the speculation either

I do think it’s premature to think that based on this hire Fife is somehow next in line. Let’s wait till he’s actually spent some time coaching here to start thinking that.

But I for some reason I don’t believe Izzo is going to stick around as long as others do. Obviously, not knowing the man (though i shook his hand once!!) this is purely my own speculation as an observer. He’s already 56. I don’t see him as the kind of guy who is going to stick around until he’s 70. I’d be surprised if he made it to 65 personally. To me he seems like the type of guy that at some point is going to decide that he’s done what he set out to do in basketball and would like to spend some time with his family. I just don’t see him holding on as long as others.

Last year when he was considering the Cavs job, I was of the opinion that part of his reason for considering it so strongly was that he knew it was probably his last opportunity, because he’s not going to coach forever. Obviously pure speculation on my part, but I think 5-7 years is what I would expect. Which makes the “who will replace him?” question much more relevant to me.

Anyway, here’s hoping the 10-15 year crowd is right and I am wrong. Hopefully TOC is still going strong for someone to call me out someday too!

by trivialstuff16 on Apr 21, 2011 12:32 PM CDT up reply actions

I remember...

…Joe Rexrode relating that Izzo had said some things over the years that suggested he doesn’t want to coach forever. What that would exactly mean, who knows?

by witless chum on Apr 21, 2011 3:16 PM CDT up reply actions

What I recall

I believe Izzo has said things to the effect that he doesn’t plan on being a Dean Smith or a Bobby Knight, coaching into his 70s. As to what that means in practice, probably only Izzo and his family know. However, I think it’s safe to assume that his range is somewhere between 5 and 15 years (with my own guess being that it’s slightly closer to 5 than 15).

by Ducking Delvon on Apr 22, 2011 9:43 AM CDT up reply actions

Also remember

Izzo isnt retiring until he gets a second championship, that you can be sure of

by Loneytunes on Apr 22, 2011 2:22 PM CDT up reply actions

I find it interesting

that Coach Izzo went for a coach in his 30’s that uses Twitter.
He often mentioned social media last season as something of an obstacle in dealing with kids and players of today. Now he’s got a coach on staff that can maybe bridge the gap between old school and new media.
Fife actually played in the 21st century, even a little bit of pro ball.
It seems that should go over well with the players.
What goes over well with me is the many Tribe Called Quest references that are now in play.
You on point Fife?!

"the game is out there, and it's play or get played. That simple" - Omar

by spartyball on Apr 21, 2011 12:07 AM CDT reply actions