Izzo-Watch, Day 7: All's Quiet on the East Lansing Front

So it turns out nothing actually happened yesterday.  This nonsensationalistic tweet from the AP's Larry Lage looks to be the closest approximation of the truth:

A person at Breslin Center today tells AP Izzo told his players he's undecided about Cavs and didn't give them a timetable

Whatever's happening right now is happening solely inside Tom Izzo's mind (and perhaps the minds of his family).  The rest has been media-generated smoke.  (I'd note that for as much [richly-deserved] criticism as the blogger at WFNY has taken over the last couple days, the idea that the Cleveland Plain Dealer has unique insights into what the MSU basketball players are hearing/saying right now is fairly laughable, too.)

There was one other relevant bit dropped yesterday by someone with direct knowledge of Tom Izzo's current mindset:

"I know Tom would like to take on the challenge of coaching at a different level," [Jud] Heathcote said. "I know he’s happy at Michigan State. He only plans to coach another five or six years. Maybe that’s a challenge he wants to take."

That quote resonates with my intuition at this point: Personal factors are a major factor in why Izzo is considering the Cavaliers gig.  The stress of the recruiting trail and the lack of time with family are not things he's willing to live with indefinitely.  Weighing the positives of moving on from those things to a very-well-compensated challenge at the next level against the negatives of leaving what's he's built in East Lansing is no simple matter.

Maybe we'll learn something today.  I'm betting on Monday.  Taking three days to consider a major career decision after meeting with your prospective new employer seems about right to me.