Mike Garland Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 8th Season at MSU

Mike Garland enters his second stint on the Spartan bench. Garland spent last season as an associate head coach at SMU under Matt Doherty, and returns to East Lansing having previously served as an assistant at MSU for seven seasons from 1996-2003. In his seven previous seasons at MSU, Garland helped coach the Spartans to five NCAA Tournaments, four Big Ten Championships, two Big Ten Tournament Championships, three Final Fours and one National Championship. He excelled in self-scouting and individual player improvement. His instruction led to six Spartans being selected in the NBA Draft during a three-year span from 2000-02. In total, he worked with nine Spartans that were picked in the draft.

"Deciding to leave SMU was a very tough decision," said Garland. "Under the direction of Matt Doherty, the Mustangs are on on the verge of accomplishing great things. Coach Doherty knows how to build a great program, and he is taking the steps to make sure SMU is among the very best teams in the nation, including the construction of a new practice facility. I feel fortunate to have been a part of this program during the first steps on its way to excellence. There is no other job in America for which I would have left SMU. It was a great learning experience, and one where I developed several meaningful friendships. But Michigan State, the Detroit area and the entire state of Michigan are my home. The opportunity to go back home along with my relationships with Tom Izzo and the other people at Michigan State helped me make the tough decision to return to the Spartan program.

"Not only do I bring with me the championship experiences from my first stay at Michigan State, I also have a new set of experiences from being a head coach at Cleveland State and my one season at SMU. My time away has made me a better coach. I'm excited to begin developing player relationships with the new group of young men at MSU. Most importantly, I look forward to working with Coach Izzo, Mark and Dwayne as part of a strong staff where we can all help each other succeed."

"We are thrilled to have Mike Garland back at Michigan State," said Izzo. "Certainly my loyalty and friendship played a role. But even more importantly, I'm excited to add someone who was here through our championship and Final Four runs, and helped build this program from the ground up. Mike has a tremendous passion for coaching and developing relationships with players. I expect that he will also help instill the toughness necessary to compete at the championship level. I'm pleased to add someone to our staff that has strong support and ties throughout the state of Michigan and in the Michigan State University community. I'd also like to thank Matt Doherty for allowing Mike to return to MSU. This is the second time I've hired one of his former assistants, after hiring Doug Wojcik from North Carolina, and I have great respect for Matt and his program."

This past season, Garland served as associate head coach at SMU under Matt Doherty. Prior to that, he was head coach for three seasons at Cleveland State, posting a 23-60 record, while increasing the Vikings' win total each season. In his second season, the Vikings improved by six wins in Horizon League play, which was the fifth-best improvement in league history.

Prior to his arrival at East Lansing, Garland enjoyed a successful nine-year stint as varsity head coach at Belleville High School. During that time, he posted a career record of 153-49 (.757) while earning numerous coaching honors. He was selected as the Associated Press' 1993-94 Michigan High School Coach of the Year while also being named the Michigan Mega Red Conference Coach of the Year. Garland, who coached three players to first-team all-state honors during his tenure at Belleville, was named The Detroit News All-Metro West Coach of the Year in 1990-91 while being selected as the All-Suburban Coach of the Year during the same campaign by the Detroit Free Press. His Belleville teams won six Mega Red Conference championships, four district titles and advanced to the state tournament quarterfinals in 1991. He spent five seasons as an assistant at Belleville before being named head coach.

Garland started his coaching career in 1977 with a two-year stint as an assistant basketball coach at Cody High in Detroit. Garland then headed to private business for several years before his desire to teach led him back into coaching as the junior varsity coach at Belleville High in 1982.

Garland earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and community recreation from Northern Michigan in 1977. While at NMU, he was the recipient of the Minority Student Academic Achievement Award. Izzo and Garland were teammates on the Wildcats' basketball squad.

Garland's family includes his wife, Cynthia, daughter, Simone, and sons Quentin and Michael Ray.