There's been a lot of speculation recently on how Tubby Smith leaving Kentucky might affect Tom Izzo and Michigan State.

As I reported Tuesday — and to the best of my knowledge this still remains fact — there has been no contact between Izzo, his representatives and officials from Kentucky. That's not to say there won't be. The Final Four, where Izzo is headed today, is a swap meet for coaches angling for jobs and universities angling for coaches. It's no secret there are some Kentucky supporters who like and respect Izzo and have for some time, and according to reports out of Lexington the university is willing to pay NBA money (or better) to its next coach. Most people assume that cash will go to Florida's Billy Donovan, a former Kentucky assistant, but if he wins a second straight national championship he might be hard to pry away from Gatorville.

That's when things could get interesting for MSU. In my heart of hearts I don't believe Izzo will or wants to leave a program he's built into the Big Ten's best, one with a serious chance at winning a championship in the coming seasons, to take over a Kentucky team thin on talent but long on tradition and expectation. To be sure, those things wouldn't scare Izzo off. He's a driven man who has succeeded under some less than ideal circumstances and as hard as he works I don't doubt he'd succeed at Kentucky, too. At the very least, he'd owe it to himself and his family to listen (everyone would) because the money, perks and everything else could just be too life-altering to pass up.

At the end of the day though, as I blogged before, I think Izzo will be right back in East Lansing next year, coaching a high-seeded tournament team, making more money than he makes now. And just so everyone's clear on that, Izzo is deservedly one of the highest-paid coaches in the country right now. He makes about $2.7 million annually, with a base salary of $320,000 and supplemental income of $1.01 million that are adjusted annually for inflation, another $300,000 in additional compensation, and a $1 million bonus paid every July for the next three years. As always, his seven-year roll-over deal will be reviewed in the coming weeks, and no one should be the least bit surprised to see it tweaked up near the $3-million mark or some of that annual bonus made part of the guaranteed deal.