Mike Garland was named associate head men's basketball coach at SMU by head coach Matt Doherty announced on Sep. 21. Garland came to the Hilltop after three seasons as the head coach at Cleveland State and seven seasons as an assistant to Tom Izzo at Michigan State. At Cleveland State, Garland's Vikings went 23-60 while increasing their 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. When he was at Michigan State, the Spartans went 173-62 (.736) won four Big Ten titles, two Big Ten Tournament crowns, advanced to NCAA Final Four three times, and won the 2000 NCAA championship. Garland's primary duties at Michigan State focused on scouting reports and game analysis. He was also responsible for helping mentor the Spartan players and monitoring their academic progress. Garland also proved successful through his off-season individual workouts that helped players like Maurice Ager, Alan Anderson, Charlie Bell, Mateen Cleaves, Paul Davis, Andre Hutson, Morris Peterson, Zach Randolph, Jason Richardson and Marcus Taylor develop into NBA draft choices. An accomplished recruiter, the last four recruiting classes that Garland was involved in at MSU were ranked among the top 10 nationally. In the summer of 2002, Garland coached an Athletes In Action team of college all-stars to an undefeated record during a tour of Africa. Before joining Izzo in East Lansing, Garland compiled a 153-49 (.757) record in nine seasons at his alma mater, Belleville High School, in Michigan. His Belleville teams won six Mega Red conference championships, four District titles, and advanced to the State Tournament quarterfinal round in 1991. Garland had three players named first-team all-State and 10 that went on to play collegiately. He was also named Associated Press State Coach of the Year in 1993-94. Garland spent five seasons as an assistant at Belleville before being named the head coach. Garland started his coaching career in 1977 with a two-year stint as an assistant basketball coach at Cody High in Detroit, Michigan. 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 was a three-year letterman in basketball at Northern Michigan, graduating in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in physical education and community recreation. During his sophomore season (1973-74), he befriended a young walk-on, Tom Izzo. Garland was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in May 1954. Garland, 52, is married to the former Cynthia White. They have been married for 30 years and have three children, daughter, Simone (27), and sons Quentin (29) and Michael Ray (22).
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