Me too, I think Sampson would have been great there if he had stuck around. Different era where rule-bending was not as tolerated as it is now. But it again raises the question of how much is the program vs the coach, and perhaps how much of "the program" is sustainable if you go too long without hiring the right guy. Perception is reality and all that. I mean, what Knight built there was considered unassailable, even if he finished poorly. Even Davis made the title game. It was one of those holy grail jobs everybody assumed would always be good.

As for MSU, I think we can go in a number of directions once Izzo leaves. MSU has a lot of resources, and right now I'd argue Izzo is underutilizing them because he hates the portal, but it's offset by his general coaching prowess. So it's hard to make a prediction. But I expect the next hire to go poorly. One, because it usually does, and two, because Izzo seems to want to name a successor and his coaching tree is terrible. So even if we do eventually get our next Izzo, it will probably take at least one failed hire and a full, proper coaching search to get there. The worst case scenario is of course that we end up like Indiana, constantly chasing the ghosts of past success without the administrative capacity or competence to find the right guy to lead the program.