Michigan State took on Loyola-Chicago in one of the exciting early matchups on Wednesday's college basketball slate. The Spartans edged out a win over the Ramblers, 63-61, but the performance from Loyola, more notably their head coach, caught the attention of one Michigan State alum.
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green tweeted about the tight game in the aftermath and gave major props to Loyola head coach Drew Valentine, who is the brother of former MSU and current Cleveland Cavaliers player Denzel Valentine.
Drew Valentine just went toe to toe with Tom Izzo on ESPN, and lost at the buzzer. A guy he’s watched his ENTIRE life, he actually coached that well against at 30. If I’m an athletic director, I’m locking the 30 year old in, in hopes he will run my program for the next 30 years!
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) November 24, 2021
Valentine didn't disappoint during the primetime game, and he earned the respect of Green for coaching what was an incredibly close game. The Warriors' star was advising Loyola to try to lock up Valentine on a long-term contract, because there may be sharks lurking in the water following that game.
He has the Ramblers off to a 4-1 start to the season and was extremely close to pulling off the upset win over Michigan State. It's his first season as a head coach, but after just five games in charge, he's already drawing praise from some big names in the business, including that of the Warriors' big man.
Green, of course, played four seasons at Michigan State from 2008-2012. During his senior season, Green averaged 16.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, doing enough to get himself drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the second round back in 2012.
Valentine's brother Denzel was also an MSU star, having averaged 11.4 points across 144 career games for the Spartans. As for Drew, he played his college ball at the University of Oakland in Michigan. Drew started three of his four seasons for the team and averaged 7.9 points per game across 136 games.
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