Longtime Michigan State assistant Mike Garland, college pal of Izzo's, says he's retiring

It's been an offseason of change for Michigan State basketball's coaching staff.

And the staff shuffling continued Thursday with the announcement Mike Garland, who has spent 22 seasons working for Tom Izzo over two different stints, has decided to retire.

Garland first joined Izzo's staff in 1996 and stayed until 2003, when he was named head coach at Cleveland State. After three years with Cleveland State, he spent one season at SMU before returning to the Michigan State bench in 2007. He was been with the Spartans ever since, most recently as a special assistant to Izzo.

Garland becomes the second longtime Izzo assistant to leave this offseason. Dwayne Stephens, Izzo's associate head coach who was on staff since 2003, left to become head coach at Western Michigan.

Thomas Kelly, a Western Michigan assistant, replaced Stephens' on Michigan State's staff.

Michigan State's other assistants are Doug Wojcik and Mark Montgomery.

"Words can't truly express what Mike Garland mean to me," Izzo said in a statement Thursday. "We've been friends since we met the first night in college and basically have lived the rest of our professional lives together. To say he's just my friend doesn't even scratch the surface of our relationship. He's my brother for life. At the same time, we all know that life moves on and this is a great time for Mike to step into a deserved retirement after a tremendous career as a leader in college basketball.

"The impact he has had on not only this program, but also on nearly every young man he's met while coaching in this sport is incredible. 

Garland, who was a teammate of Izzo's at Northern Michigan, started his coaching career as an assistant at Detroit Cody, before becoming the head junior-varsity coach at Belleville. He took over as Belleville varsity head coach and was in that job for nine years, making the state quarterfinals four times, before Izzo hired him in his second year as the head coach at Michigan State in 1996. Hired as a player-development specialist, Garland saw six Spartans selected in the NBA Draft over a three-year span from 2000-02. 

In 2004, Garland left Michigan State to take over as head coach at Cleveland State. The Vikings were 0-16 in the Horizon League in his first season, then 6-10 in his second. He was fired after his third season, with a 23-60 overall record. He spent a season as associate head coach at SMU, before returning to Michigan State.

Garland has been on Michigan State's staff for seven trips to the Final Four, including the 2000 national-championship season. He has been on staff for all 10 of Izzo's Big Ten championships, 20 NCAA Tournament appearances and six Big Ten tournament titles. The two would routinely start each day together, with 7:30 a.m. chats in the basketball offices.

This is the second offseason of significant turnover for Izzo's staff, which also lost graduate-assistant graduate assistant Manny Dosanjh to Western Michigan.

Last offseason, Michigan State lost assistant coach Dane Fife and video coordinator Drew Denisco. Garland, who just turned 68, also shifted into a new role last year, moving from assistant coach to special assistant to Izzo, allowing Garland to spend time with a son, Michael Ray, who had recently undergone heart surgery.

"There have been a lot of successful moments on the court here and that's what Tom has built, one of the best college basketball programs in the country," Garland said in the statement released by the school. "It's been an honor to be a part of those championships and Final Fours and to see so many of our players go on to play professionally. I've been just as proud to see so many of our players have success in the business world and to become fathers with wonderful families.

"I always thought that Chief (Tom) and I would share the day of our departure together. And, of course, I could have given him a few more years to make that dream come true, like all the others we have shared together. But after several months of thought and reflection, while sitting at the hospital bedside of my son, I decided it was best for my family, while I'm in great health, to give up the game I love to pour more of myself into my wife (Cynthia), my children and eight grandchildren."

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tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984