Tom Izzo Wins the 2016 Dean Smith Award

A big congratulations to coach Tom Izzo for winning the 2016 Dean Smith Award.

If you aren’t familiar with the honor, here’s more from GoHeels.com, the official website of UNC athletics. The announcement was made this morning:

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association announced today it has selected Izzo to receive this year's Dean Smith Award, given annually to an individual in college basketball who embodies the spirit and values of the late North Carolina coaching great.

The USBWA will present Izzo with the Dean Smith Award at a Spartans' home game to be announced at a later date.

Izzo is the second person to receive the Dean Smith Award. The USBWA established the award last year and selected former Georgetown coach John Thompson as the first recipient.

The award recognizes coaches for more than just their success in basketball. "We wanted to honor Coach Smith for the life he led and the lives he touched," said past USBWA president John Feinstein, who had the idea to establish the award. "Coach Smith would be very proud to have Tom's name on the award in his honor."

"Tom Izzo represents everything the Dean Smith Award stands for," USBWA president Ed Graney said. "Coach Izzo's distinguished career and commitment to excellence represent the standards for which this award is defined, qualities Coach Smith held as paramount in making an impact on the lives of players on and off the court."

Izzo, a freshly minted member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, is having a great year off the court. His humanitarian work includes working with Coaches vs. Cancer, Volunteers of America and the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Well-deserved award for one of the good guys in college athletics.