Tom Izzo is the Michigan State Spartans, but did he almost leave East Lansing for the NBA last year? “I’ve had more than a couple job offers in the NBA, and I looked at one last year with [the] Phoenix [Suns],” Izzo revealed in a Wednesday appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.” “My former player, [Suns owner] Mat Ishbia, that was a hard thing to turn down because, No. 1, I kind of wanted to go with him … We talked seriously about it, let’s say that. And then, No. 2, I’ve been pretty vocal about it: I don’t like what’s going on in college athletics. But, by the way, neither do 99.8% of the football and basketball coaches in America. “I think the kids are going to still find out before it’s done that it’s not best for them, either. But, in the meantime, you got to do what you got to do.” UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley revealed last week on “The Dan Patrick Show” that he consulted with Izzo in 2024 when Hurley had discussions with the Los Angeles Lakers about their head-coaching vacancy, which Hurley ultimately turned down. Izzo said in the aforementioned interview he told Hurley that he “didn’t want to lose him in college basketball” because he’s “so good” for the sport but also stated they “got to keep an eye on what’s happening” in their “profession.” Of course, Izzo’s Spartans lost to Hurley’s Huskies in the Sweet 16 round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Tournament last week. It ended a 2025-26 season that saw Michigan State go 27-8 overall and 15-5 in Big Ten play, good for fourth in the conference. [More Hurley: UConn Men’s Basketball Hoping For Championship Transfer Magic Once Again] As for what’s next for the 71-year-old Izzo, the Michigan State coach expressed that he has no plans to retire in the near future, saying he’s focused on “trying to win a national championship.” Regarding the connection to the Suns, Ishbia played for Izzo at Michigan State for three seasons (1999-2000 season to 2001-02 season), including for the Spartans’ 1999-2000 national title team. The Suns ended up hiring former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott as their head coach last summer, marking the franchise’s third coaching hire in as many years (Frank Vogel, Mike Budenholzer and Ott). This season, Phoenix is 42-34, good for the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
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Many pre-workout powders have reputations that precede themselves. Think: itchy tingles all over your body, paired with a heart rate that climbs faster than it does during your first working set. For a beginner lifter or someone totally new to the pre-workout landscape, it’s difficult to know where to start. After all, you don’t want to end up with a tub that collects dust on your shelf because it’s too intense and leaves you with an uncomfortable case of the jitters.
If you’re looking for an easy entry point into the wide world of pre-workout, Raw Nutrition Essential Pre-Workout gets our vote as the best option for beginners. Co-owned by six-time Mr. Olympia Chris Bumstead, Raw Nutrition’s formula keeps it straightforward with key ingredients and moderate doses that won’t overwhelm you on day one. It comes in a range of flavors for every palette, providing steady energy for a great lift while keeping your focus sharp and locking in a solid pump. And though it’s great for beginners, it’s also a solid choice for anyone in need of a clean formula that simply gets the job done.
Best Pre-Workout for Beginners: Raw Nutrition Essential Pre-Workout
Raw Nutrition Essential Pre-Workout
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If you’re new to lifting or just new to pre-workouts, it’s best to start with the basics. Tons of pre-workouts have a laundry list of ingredients, but Raw Nutrition Essential Pre-Workout focuses on exactly what you need and nothing you don’t (hence the name). Despite its simplicity and straightforward ingredients list, this pre-workout isn’t weak. In fact, this formula works well for both beginners and experienced lifters alike.
Each scoop delivers clinically effective doses of key ingredients like L-citrulline, beta-alanine, and caffeine, providing steady energy and performance without overdoing the stimulants. On top of that, with around a dozen flavors to choose from, including Peach Mango, Raspberry Creamsicle, and Sour Watermelon, it’s easy to find one you’ll actually enjoy drinking.
It’s also third-party tested and Informed Sport Certified, banned substance-free. This makes it a trusted choice for athletes and anyone looking for a safe, pure, and reliable pre-workout.
Men’s Journal has spent over three decades as a leading authority on fitness and outdoor gear. We don’t just summarize product specs. Our recommendations come from legitimate hands-on testing and the direct guidance of industry experts. We constantly refine our buyer’s guides, ensuring every pick remains the absolute best available.
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is one of the three set to be available to download April 7, but that’s not all.
Fans of co-op and action RPGs will also find something to dig their thumbs into.
Paging Lara Croft
Whether you missed the original run of Tomb Raider games on the first PlayStation or just miss playing the original run of Tomb Raider games on the first Playstation, Sony has great news for you this month.
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered will bring all expansions and secret levels from Lara Croft’s first three games to modern game platforms for the first time.
That also means upgraded graphics, though the option to play with the original polygon look is also available.
A new challenge mode is also available with customized modifiers and complete achievements to unlock 10 new outfits that enhance Lara’s abilities.
The original Tomb Raider game was released for the Playstation, Sega Saturn and PCs in 1996 with II and III following before the end of the decade exclusively on the Playstation.
What else is coming in April to Playstation Plus?
If you’re not needing to scratch the vintage game itch, there are two other options.
Lords of the Fallen is a third-person action role-playing game that allows players to use both magic and melee weapons. It has both co-op and player-vs.-player multiplayer modes.
Nine character classes are available along with hundreds of weapons as you play as a Dark Crusader tasked with bringing an end to the reign of the evil demon god Adyr.
Sword Art Online Fracture Daydream is an action co-op raid game that lets gamers join a raid party and prepare for a fight with high difficulty bosses as a team.
In all, 21 characters from different story arcs of the SAO series are available, including different worlds and timelines. Characters come from both the anime and movie series, and each has a unique fighting class with its own attributes.
It was originally released for PS5, XBOX Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and Steam.
Players on the “Essential” play get monthly game downloads, exclusive discounts, cloud storage, the ability to play against others online and other exclusive content.
Subscribers on the “Extra” tier get all that plus access to the Game Catalog and Ubisoft+ Classics.
People who go all the way up to the “Premium” tier get the above benefits plus access to the Classics Catalog, game trials and cloud streaming.
As of this writing, the four monthly game downloads for March are still available: PGA Tour 2K25, Monster Hunter Rise, Slime Rancher 2 and The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Golden Road.
Those will not be available to download after April 6, but they remain on your system as long as you don’t delete them.
An eight-team field. Loaded with talent. Half-a-million in NIL money on the line. The College Basketball Crown returns to Las Vegas this week with some must-see stars and matchups. Several all-conference performances will take the court in the single-elimination tournament, which tips off with first-round games scheduled for April 1-2, followed by the semifinals on April 4 and the championship game on April 5. The tournament will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena with a $500,000 NIL prize pool. The complete bracket features Oklahoma, Colorado, Baylor, Minnesota, Stanford, West Virginia, Rutgers and Creighton. Who are the top names in this year’s College Basketball Crown, and what should fans expect to see this weekend in the desert? Here is a breakdown of the top-10 players to watch in this year’s event. [COLLEGE BASKETBALL CROWN: Schedule, Bracket, Teams] Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford This 6-foot-2, 182-pound guard from New Hampshire is an elite-level scorer with the potential to be the star of this tournament. He averaged 22.8 points per game, which ranked eighth among Division I players, joining BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and Duke’s Cameron Boozer as the only first-year players to average more than 22 points per contest this season. Okorie scored at least 30 points on seven occasions this season, including a memorable 40-point outing in Stanford’s 95-72 win over ACC foe Georgia Tech back on Feb. 7. He is the best pure scorer in the field and has the ability to lead the Cardinal on a run to the College Basketball Crown title. Cameron Carr, G, Baylor After spending the past two seasons at Tennessee, Carr transferred to Baylor and made an immediate impact in Waco. The 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore leads the Bears in scoring at 19.2 points per game while also contributing 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per contest. He shoots 51% from the field and sports a 39% clip from 3-point range. Carr has put up 21 or more points in four of Baylor’s last five games heading into the College Basketball Crown, including a 25-point outing against Arizona State in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament. Tounde Yessoufou, G, Baylor A five-star recruit out of Benin, Yessoufou has lived up to his billing during his first year on campus. The 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 17.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game en route to being named All-Big 12 honorable mention this season. He has elite physical strength for a guard, but he has shown to be inconsistent at times on the defensive end of the court. His best game of the season came in a mid-February matchup against BYU when he put up 37 points and six rebounds on 12-of-19 shooting from the floor and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. [CBB CROWN: How to Bet the Crown’s First Round] Barrington Hargress, G, Colorado With Colorado freshman guard Isaiah Johnson reportedly set to enter the transfer portal, a massive opportunity awaits for Hargress, who was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Johnson this season. Hargress, a 6-foot-1 junior guard from Inglewood, California, put up 14.2 points and a team-best 4.5 assists this season for the Buffaloes. He is coming off one of the best games of his career, an 18-point, nine-rebound, four-assist showing against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament. Look for Hargress to step into a leading role for the Buffs in Las Vegas this week. Josh Dix, G, Creighton Dix spent the first three seasons of his college career at Iowa and made the decision to transfer to Creighton last offseason. He has made an instant impact, averaging a team-high 13 points per game on the season. Dix has topped the 20-point mark in three of his last six games heading into the Crown, including a memorable 21-point, eight-rebound performance in Creighton’s 91-84 upset win over UConn back on Feb. 18. Cade Tyson, G, Minnesota Tyson is on his third stop in four years after spending the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Belmont with a year at North Carolina in between. He has developed as the Gophers’ most consistent offensive threat in his senior season, averaging a team-high 19.6 points per game, the sixth-highest average in the Big Ten. He is also an above-average 3-point shooter, hitting at a 42% clip from beyond the arc. Tariq Francis, G, Rutgers Francis, a junior guard out of Pittsburgh, is one of the top bucket-getters in this tournament. He is a crafty scorer who averaged 16.9 points per game this season, which led the Scarlet Knights. He had 30 or more points on three separate occasions this season, as well as a 29-point showing on 5-of-7 shooting from downtown in a Big Ten Tournament win over fellow Crown participant, Minnesota. Honor Huff, G, West Virginia Huff is not only one of the top 3-point shooters in this year’s College Basketball Crown, but the 5-foot-10 senior guard is also one of the most successful shooters from downtown in West Virginia program history. Huff knocked down 109 3s this season, which ranked third among Big 12 players this season. He led the Mountaineers in scoring at 15.8 points per game and has scored in double-figures in eight straight games. Nijel Pack, G, Oklahoma Pack is a sixth-year senior who began his career at Kansas State, where he played for two years before transferring to Miami. He spent three years at Miami and is now in his final year at Oklahoma. The 5-foot-10 senior guard has been a scoring threat throughout his collegiate career, totaling more than 2,300 points. He led the Sooners in scoring this season, averaging 16.5 points per game while shooting 47% from the field and 45% from 3-point range. Xzayvier Brown, G, Oklahoma After playing his freshman and sophomore year at S. Joe’s, Brown transferred to Oklahoma this offseason and became a full-time starter in the Sooners’ backcourt, averaging 15.3 points per game, which ranked second on the team. He led the Sooners in both assists (3.2) and steals (1.3), while shooting 46% from the field.
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